They are able to swim up, down, forward or backward, but they do not move quickly. ... Seahorses dance together for over 8 hours (or days) before mating.
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Seahorses
Facts about Seahorses Seahorses are members (of around 50 known species ) of the pipefish family. Scientific name: Hippocampus (Hippo: horse / Campus: sea monster) Although they are fish, seahorses are not great swimmers, they beat their fins very quickly, up to 50 times/ second. They are able to swim up, down, forward or backward, but they do not move quickly. Seahorses prefer to rest in one area, sometimes holding on to the seaweed for days. Seahorses have excellent eyesight and their eyes are able to work independently on either side of their head.
Seahorses feed on plankton (tiny organisms that are unable to swim). Seahorse can suck up food from as far as 3cm away.
They do not have teeth and stomachs, so food passes through their bodies very quickly, and they need to eat constantly. They have specialized structures in their skin cells, called chromatophores, which allow seahorses to change skin colour according to the surrounded environment.
Seahorses most often live in shallow waters near the coast, so human activities like pollution, and fishing have threatened their numbers. They are using as pets in aquariums and for Asian traditional medicine as a dried powder (anti-tumor, sexual dysfunction, asthma, infections of the throat and skin, anti-aging, and anti-fatigue).
They have a vertebral column. The body is completely supported by bony exo-skeleton. They lacks for ribs.
20mm-35cm
Reproduction in Seahorses
Reproduction in Seahorses 1. Dancing, courtship, and fertilisation (8h-days).
2. Pregnancy (2-4 weeks). 3. Giving a birth (up to 12 hours).
Seahorses dance together for over 8 hours (or days) before mating. During the dance they hold each other’s tails, swim and change colour.
At the end of dancing, the female seahorse transfers her mature eggs into the male’s pouch. The male releases sperms to fertilise the eggs as they enter the pouch.
The father carries eggs until they're ready to hatch (2-4 weeks). In some species, he might carry as many as 2,000 eggs.
What does the pouch can supply for embryos?
Nutrients, energy-rich fats and calcium. Remove wastes produced by the embryos, such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen. Protection against infections, by producing antibacterial and antifungal.
Estrogen and other birth-related hormones
Seahorse pregnancy is incredibly complex: Around 3.000 different genes are involved in many different pregnancy-associated processes. Strikingly, many of the seahorse genes are similar to those in other pregnant females.
Around a week of giving birth, seahorse dads start producing hatching signals.
These signals cause the embryos to hatch out from their thin membranes and swim freely inside the swelling brood pouch.
Signs of giving birth The pregnant male’s show restlessness and show weak contractions.
Increase respiratory rate. Rapid change in the body colour.
The muscular contractions become stronger causing ejection of a few hundred to as many as 2,000 babies (fry) into the water. The offspring must live independently where only about 1% will survive to adulthood.
The mystery of why seahorse male is getting pregnant rather than female is not determined, yet. The responsibility of Seahorse females for their offspring ends at mating.
Happy Father’s day
