海马Seahorses
SeahorsesareaspeciesoffishbelongingtothefishfamilySyngnathidae,whichalsoincludespipefish.ThepipefishandseahorsearefoundintropicalwatersallovertheCaribean.
Seahorsesrangeinsizefrom16mm(therecentlydiscoveredHippocampusdenise[2])to35cm.Seahorsesandpipefishesarenotableforbeingtheonlyspeciesinwhichmalesbecome"pregnant".[3]
Ithasadorsalfinlocatedonthelowerbodyandpectoralfinslocatedontheheadneartheirgills.Somespeciesofseahorsearepartlytransparentandarerarelyseeninpictures.
Seadragonsarecloserelativesofseahorsesbuthavebiggerbodiesandleaf-likeappendageswhichenablethemtohideamongfloatingseaweedorkelpbeds.Seahorsesandseadragonsfeedonlarvalfishesandamphipods,suchassmallshrimp-likecrustaceanscalledmysids("sealice"),suckinguptheirpreywiththeirsmallmouths.Manyoftheseamphipodsfeedonredalgaethatthrivesintheshadeofthekelpforestswheretheseadragonslive.
Seahorsesreproduceinanunusualway:themalebecomespregnant.AsstatedonTheSeahorseProject,"Thefemaleinsertsherovipositorintothemale’sbroodpouch,whereshedepositshereggs,whichthemalefertilizes.Thefertilizedeggsthenembedinthepouchwallandbecomeenvelopedwithtissues."Newresearchindicatesthemalereleasesspermintothesurroundingseawaterduringfertilization,andnotdirectlyintothepouchaswaspreviouslythought.[4]Mostseahorsespecies'pregnancieslastsapproximatelytwotothreeweeks.
Hatchedoffspringareindependentoftheirparents.Somespendtimedevelopingamongtheoceanplankton.Attimes,themaleseahorsemaytrytoconsumesomeofthepreviouslyreleasedoffspring.Otherspecies(H.zosterae)immediatelybeginlifeassea-floorinhabitants(benthos).
Seahorsesaregenerallymonogamous,thoughseveralspecies(H.abdominalisamongthem)arehighlygregarious.Inmonogamouspairs,themaleandfemalewillgreetoneanotherwithcourtshipdisplaysinthemorningandsometimesintheeveningtoreinforcetheirpairbond.Theyspendtherestofthedayseparatefromeachotherhuntingforfood.
