Friday, 16 November 2012

Creature Feature: Lined Seahorse


The Lined Seahorse (Hippocampus erectus), also known as the Northern Seahorse or Spotted Seahorse, is one of the larger species of its kind and is easily distinguishable by its colouring pattern of dark lines on a light background.  The seahorse is an interesting looking fish because of its resemblance to a knight on a chess board. From its horse-like head to its prehensile tail it does not resemble many peoples’ idea of what a fish looks like.  Rings of rectangular bony plates have replaced scales on the Lined seahorse and one of the most distinguishing features is the kangaroo-like pouch that the males of the species have.  They use this pouch during reproduction; the female seahorse will deposit from 250 to 650 eggs into this brood pouch where they will be fertilised and incubated until the babies are developed enough to swim freely on their own. Once they have matured to this point the male will make sharp movements bending back and forth to expel the young from the brood pouch. When they are born they are exact miniatures of adult seahorses at about a size of approximately 1.5cm.  The seahorse will reach its maximum length of 12.5cm in 8 to 10 months.  The Lined seahorse may live up to 4 or 5 years.
It is also important to note that seahorses are currently in danger of being wiped out due to their use in traditional Chinese medicine and their use as novelty items for personal aquariums and tourist products.  Here at the Huntsman Marine Science Centre, we hope to create a Lined Seahorse exhibit and to help offset the depletion of these interesting creatures; a breeding program as well.  To learn more about these creatures and how you can help please visit http://huntsmanmarine.ca/subcontents.php?id=16&sid=60 .

 
Adult Lined or Northern Seahorse.
 

 
Diagram of both the male and female Hippocampus erectus.
 

 
Newly hatched seahorses.

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