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“Seahorses are
strange, beautiful, oddities of nature. But the very things that make them sofascinating
to humans now threatens to lead them to extinction.” - ABC News Is it possible for a male to get pregnant? Absolutely,
if he is a seahorse!Seahorses
are real creatures.Seahorses form faithful pairs—and seahorse Males get pregnantThey're big and small, they hund and have interesting
personalities.Their lives are short, and they have few offspring.Because
sea horses wear such heavy armor, they are very poor swimmers. They spend most
of the day resting by anchoring themselves with their tail.Seahorse
Facts:dorsal fin: moves fish forward pectoral fins:
control turning and steering eyes: each eye moves independently
reproduction: male becomes pregnant when a female, deposits her eggs
into his pouch; each pregnancy lasts about two to three weeks (varies with species
and water temperature); once the male gives birth, he usually becomes pregnant
again right away. diet: each day a seahorse can consume up to
3,000 brine shrimp; seahorses have no teeth and swallow their food whole
species: about 35 known species exist size: depending on
the species, from 1/4 inch to a foot or more range: found in most
of the world's temperate and tropical coastal watersThe sea horse relies on its
ability to camouflage itself for protection against predators like large fish,
birds, crabs and sea turtles. With its camouflaging ability, it can change colors
in the blink of an eye. What is a danger to Seahorses?
- Chinese medicine
Chinese and other
Asian cultures have been using seahorses in medicine for 400 to 500 years. - Aquariums
Hobbyists buy them for home aquariums. However, seahorses are very difficult to
keep because they require live brine shrimp for food and easily become sick in
captivity. - Souvenirs
Dried seahorses are used to make souvenirs Even
the environment of Seahorses is becoming threatened due to natural causes.Hippocampus
is a genus of fish known as Seahorses. They are found in temperate and
tropical waters all over the world.Seahorses range in size from 16 mm to 35 cm.
Seahorses are also unusual among
fishes for being monogamous. Seahorse populations have been
endangered in recent years by over-fishing. When the male gives
birth he pumps his tail until the baby seahorses emerge.Though close relatives
of seahorses, sea dragons have bigger bodies and leaf-like appendages which enable
them to hide among floating seaweed or kelp beds. There
are approximately 35 known species of seahorses.
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