Connecticut

NATURE
Common Core State Standard ELA: Reading Informational Text (3.1-7 through 6.1-7)

Animal Spotlight- Lined Seahorse Article written by the Mystic Aquarium

Have you ever heard that the male seahorse is actually the one that gives birth? Is this really true? The answer is yes and no. The
female seahorse still lays the eggs but she deposits them into a pouch on the front side of the male. The male fertilizes the eggs and
they develop in the pouch for 40-50 days. Once hatched, the male “gives birth”
by using his muscles to push the live young out of the pouch and into the water.
100-450 baby seahorses can emerge from the pouch at one time. These baby
seahorses are extremely tiny, as small as 1cm (0.4in), and nearly transparent.
Seahorses have a very distinct appearance with a horse-like head, a long tail
that is made for grasping (called prehensile) and boneless fins. Lined Seahorses
can vary greatly in color; some are bright yellow or red while others are darker
brown or black. Adults can reach up to 17cm (7in). You can tell the difference
between a male and female seahorse by checking for that pouch that only exists
on the male.

Lined Seahorses eat plankton, fish larvae and small crustaceans by sucking them
in using their long toothless, tube like mouths. Seahorses do not have stomachs
so the entire digestive process is carried out by the intestines and seahorses
must eat almost constantly to survive. They live in shallow sea grass beds, mangroves, corals, eel grass, or any habitat that has an abun-
dance of vegetation. Seahorses anchor themselves by wrapping their tails around vegetation and other stationary
objects to prevent being swept away by currents.

Cool Connections to learn more:

Visit http://www.mysticaquarium.org/animals-and-exhibits/species-of-the-month for additional information, photos and a
video about seahorses at Mystic Aquarium.
Take part in a Mystic Aquarium class, summer camp or teacher workshop either at your school or at the Aquarium to learn more
about a variety of marine animals.
Visit http://www.mysticaquarium.org/fun-and-learning for more information.
Visit Project Seahorse at http://seahorse.fisheries.ubc.ca/ to learn more about seahorses and advancing marine conservation

Did You Know

Corner
Aquarist’s
• A group of seahorses is called a herd.
• The eyes of a seahorse can move indepen-
dently. One can look up while the other is
looking down.
• The fin on the back of a seahorse can move Questions and Answers with a Mystic Aquarium Aquarist
up to 35 times per second to help the animal
swim.
Q: What are the threats to seahorse populations?
• Most species of A: Seahorses face numerous threats to their survival. These threats include: habitat destruction, bycatch,
seahorses mate for collection for souvenirs and in unregulated trade. Additionally, seahorses have been collected and used
life, and couples for over 500 years in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of many ailments.
start each morn- Q: What is your favorite part of working with seahorses?
ing with a greeting A: “They are cute! Just watching them swim around and curl up onto each other is hilarious. They can’t
dance that can last swim very well so they will hold on to anything, including each other. Sometimes, you will see one sea-
up to ten minutes. horse with up to 8 others wrapped onto it. They are very interesting to watch.”