20141028

All About Seahorses and Sea-Dragons




The seahorse and the sea draogns are weird creatures. They are beautiful to look at, gentle and graceful, but they aren't good swimmers and often die in storms. More bizarre, their males carry the young lings, not the female. However, their colors, grace and grace make them a pleasure to look at.
sea horses and sea dragons
The 'Lined Seahorse' (or Spotted seahorse) In ancient Greek, hippos meant 'horse' and kampos meant 'sea monster', and so the seahorse's real name is 'Hippocampus', along with other varieties of fish. The lined seahorse is about 15 cm (6 inches) long and lives about 4 years.

sea horses and sea dragons
Beautiful seahorse in rainbow colors - Hamburg, Germany.

sea horses and sea dragons
This is a leafy sea dragon. The leafy sea dragon is a master of camouflage, hiding among the plants from the many predators around it.

sea horses and sea dragons
This is the weedy sea dragon. It looks a little less and a bit more like a seahorse. They use their prodigious snout to suck up tiny creatures for food. A weird fact about this creature: It swims sideways!

sea horses and sea dragons
A beautiful and delicate looking sea dragon at Birch Aquarium in San Diego. The leafy sea dragon will get to a length of about 35 cm (13.8 inches). Its cousin, the weedy dragon, can reach bigger sizes of up to 46 cm (18 inches) in length.

sea horses and sea dragons
Lacking both teeth and a stomach, the seahorse must constantly eat to make up for its poor digestive skills.

sea horses and sea dragons
A blue and pink Leafy seadragon. Seadragons are mostly found near South and West Australia.

sea horses and sea dragons
A thorny (or spiny) seahorse. Mainly propelled by a small fin on its back, the seahorse is not the strongest of swimmers. When there's a storm, they often die as they cannot swim well enough to avoid being tossed around by it.

sea horses and sea dragons
A curious seahorse is looking for food. One of the strangest things about seahorses is that the male gets pregnant, not the female.

sea horses and sea dragons
Yet these are not pregnant seahorses; these are the Pot-Bellied seahorses, one of the largest seahorse species.

sea horses and sea dragons
A beautiful red thorny seahorse. This is one of many endangered seahorse species which were decimated for its use in traditional Chinese medicine.

sea horses and sea dragons
Incredibly effective camouflage.

sea horses and sea dragons
Stunning photos of a gray and a yellow seahorse at Zurich Zoo.

sea horses and sea dragons
A leafy sea dragon making friends with a weedy one.

sea horses and sea dragons
The leafy seadragon uses the fins along the side of its head to allow it to steer and turn. However, its outer skin is fairly rigid, limiting mobility. Individual leafy seadragons have been observed remaining in one location for extended periods of time (up to 68 hours) but will sometimes move for lengthy periods. The tracking of one individual indicated it moved at up to 150 meters (490 feet) per hour.

sea horses and sea dragons
The pygmy seahorse is found in coastal areas ranging from southern Japan and Indonesia to northern Australia and New Caledonia on reefs and slopes at a depth of 10–40 meters (33–130 ft)

sea horses and sea dragons
Close up of a leafy sea dragon.

sea horses and sea dragons
Close up of a weedy sea dragon (left) and eggs hanging on the male weedy sea dragon (right).

sea horses and sea dragons
Every morning, seahorse couples do a mating dance in order to reinforce their permanent bond. They will mate for life.

sea horses and sea dragons
The difference between a pot-bellied seahorse and a lined seahorse.

sea horses and sea dragons
A male courts a female for days before potentially mating. During the courting ritual, seahorses will curl their tails around each other.

sea horses and sea dragons
Married for life.

sea horses and sea dragons
Spectacular shot of two kissing seahorses.

sea horses and sea dragons
A thorny seahorse. Thorny sea horses can change their color at will to blend in with its environment.

sea horses and sea dragons
A lone seahorse, floating.