Seahorses
Main Information
Seahorses have a truly unique and have a unique shape. They are carnivores, but they have no teeth. They are the only animal species on Earth where the male gives birth to the babies. Seahorses are bony his and have no scales. There are 35 known species of seahorses which all prefer to live in tropical and temperate waters.
Characteristics and Habits
The full-grown seahorses are about 2-8 inches. Seahorses are usually colorful, some of their colors include orange, red, yellow, gray, green, blue, purple, etc. They also have patterns on their bodies, like zebra stripes and spots. Some seahorses have to ability to camouflage with their surroundings so they can hide from their predators. Seahorses can curl their tails forward, but not backwards. They usually swim in pairs with their tails linked, in an upright position. They belong to a family called vertebra, which means the ones with an interior skin. They have pectoral fins that control turning. Something interesting about those creatures is that they mate only under full moons. Once they mate they become their mate for life.. When the seahorses fall asleep, they curl their tails around seaweed to prevent themselves from drifting away. They also utter musical sounds while sleeping, as though they are snoring. These seahorses are becoming nearly endangered, due to people trading and hunting about 25 million seahorses every year!
Life Cycle
Females lay about 2000 eggs into the male's pouch, at its belly, at a time. The eggs get fertilized in the male's pouch. Veins grow around the eggs to support and give nutrients to the growing babiesThe babies start hatching in 2-6 weeks and come out of the pouch. The male squeezes its tummy to uh the babies out. This process could take unto 2 days and it gets the males exhausted.
The males and the females stay together for life.
The males and the females stay together for life.