rykna
Active Member
During breeding season, the female lays up to 200 eggs in the father's pouch.
A. After two to six weeks, the father grasps a seaweed stem. The opening of his pouch enlarges.
B. He flexes his body back and forth. the pouch opening widens and babies begin to emerge.
C. Babies are born in small batches. The father may give birth for up to two days. The baby seahorses are miniture adults and are independant from birth.
Diet: A seahorse can consume up to 3,000 brine shrimp a day. They have no teeth and swallow their food whole.
Reproduction: The seahorse is unusual because it is the male who becomes pregnant. The female releases her eggs into a pouch on the male’s abdomen. The eggs attach themselves to the spongy pouch wall and are fertilized by the male, who nourishes them with a special fluid. Gestation is usually 14-28 days. Babies are a perfect miniature of the adults. About 50 young are born, depending on the species. Very few reach maturity because the seahorse must avoid its many natural predators (crab, tuna, skates, and rays). Storms can cause the death of adult seahorses, tearing them from the vegetation to which they cling and causing them to die of exhaustion or from being tossed ashore.
Adaptation:
• Prehensile tail that wraps around stems of vegetation.
• Camouflage to deceive predators.
• Swivel eyes that let the sea horse watch prey without moving.
• Dorsal fin that beats 35 times a second, allowing the sea horse to hover in the water.
