Lined Seahorse

Seahorse

Hippocampus erectus

Size: to 6"

Habitat: Weedy protected shore waters.

Notes:

Look for Seahorses in still weedy areas, where they cling to plants and objects with their prehensile tails. Color and body form are highly variable, as these masters of camouflage adapt to their surroundings. Strays may be found at sea, or even washed up on the beach.

Locomotion is accomplished by fluttering the dorsal and pectoral fins, and they are extremely weak swimmers, utterly unable to buck a current. Males have a brood pouch where they incubate the eggs, then give birth to fully-formed miniature copies of themselves. Seahorses feed on plankton, which they suck up with their tubular snouts, making a distinct popping sound. They are tolerant of brackish water, but not fresh.


"Higher animals" is a catch-all term for vertebrates other than fish. This is rather self-congratulatory, since the so-called "lower animals" - fishes and invertebrates - are actually the dominant species on the planet, both in numbers and diversity! The four classes of higher animals are:

  • Amphibians - class Amphibia
  • Reptiles - class Reptilia
  • Birds - class Aves
  • Mammals - class Mammalia

Of these, amphibians are absent from marine environments ( with one or two exceptions. )

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