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.


Manasquan Inlet
Low tide, winter.
Point Pleasant on the left /south
Manasquan on the right / north
Type:
tidal river inlet with stone jetties or bulkheads on both sides
Depth:
30 ft

This inlet has a long slightly L-shaped jetty on the north side and a longer straight jetty on the south side. Both jetties are made of large stones and concrete, and the ends are built out of man-made concrete "jacks", shaped like an H with a 90-degree twist in the middle.

Printed from njscuba.net