Seahorses: Some Facts You Did Not Know

The smallest species of seahorse, Satomi’s pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus satomiae) is a miniscule 14mm in length.

Smallest is 14mm

Once the females have produced their eggs, it’s the males that have to deal with the pregnancy. Female seahorses ‘inject’ their eggs into the males, which have a ‘pouch’ on their stomach where they carry the eggs until birth.

Males Carry Eggs

Seahorse mates will stay together for an entire breeding season, and some species will stay together for multiple seasons and several years.

Long Relationships

They are not very good swimmers. This is largely due to their bulky bodies and their unusual fin arrangement.

Bad Swimmers

Seahorses lack teeth, so they inhale their food through their snouts. It then passes through their digestive system so quickly that seahorses have to eat almost constantly to satisfy their appetites.

Big Appetite

The impressive camouflage helps them blend into the background. Seahorses can change their colour to match their surroundings.

Masters of Disguise

The central Indo-Pacific region is home to the greatest number of seahorse species, but you can find seahorses in the waters of an impressive 130 countries spread across 6 continents except Antarctica.

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