Seahorses glide gracefully among ocean coral

7 years ago
788

Seahorses are endearing creatures with a head shaped like a horse and a tail that resembles that of a monkey. They are slow swimmers and are hardly able to chase their prey, the tiny copepods that they feed on. And yet, they are highly adapted to be very efficient hunters. The shape of their mouth makes their movement undetectable to the tiny organisms which rely on water vibration to sense an oncoming attack. Seahorses catch over 90% of the prey that they intend to.

Seahorses are also famous for being the only animal in the world in which males incubate and deliver the young. A female will actually deposit her egg in the male's abdomen where it is fertilized and held for 28 days before the young seahorses are born.

Amazingly, the male seahorse is able to deliver his young in the morning and become pregnant again the following day.

It is a rare treat to see one of these fragile, yet beautiful creatures in the wild.

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