Seahorses are very similar to their chess counterparts. The body of the fish is curved, there is a hump on the back, the abdomen protrudes forward, the neck is arched, like
horse. The head of the fish, which it can only move up and down, is at an angle of 90 degrees relative to the body. Lateral turns are not available for the skate. If other marine animals were built in a similar way, then they would have difficulty with vision. But this problem does not threaten the skate, because it has features. Both of his eyes function completely independently: they move separately and look each in their own direction. Therefore, the seahorse can see everything that is happening around. The tail of the immovable fish is twisted into a spiral.
An interesting system thanks to which seahorses move. The swimming bag of these fish is filled with gas. By changing its concentration, these marine inhabitants move in the water. If some gas is lost, or
The swimming bag is damaged, the fish is drowning and dying.
Extremely rareseahorses gather in flocks. Photos of these clusters can be obtained infrequently. But they can be found in pairs, since these fish are monogamous, although sometimes they change partners. It is remarkable that these sea creatures hatch their eggs. Moreover, this is performed by a male horse. The male has a spacious bag in the lower part of the body, under the belly. There is no armor at this location. During the mating season, seahorses come close to each other, press tightly, and the female spawns directly into this bag, where the eggs are fertilized. The skin of the inside of the bag becomes spongy, and through them the eggs are fed, and then the fry.
Cubs are born in 1-2 months depending on the species, already fully formed. These are exact copies of their parents, but smaller. Skates are extremely prolific. In the mating season, fry appear every four weeks. Their birth is regulated by the ebbs and flows, since the water, retreating from the coast, can carry small skates to a depth. The number of fry per season can reach 1000 individuals. After leaving the bag, the skates begin a completely independent life.
It is quite difficult to take a photo of a seahorse: they are too shy, although the armor covering the whole body is very strong and protects the fish well from
all kinds of marine predators. A variety of spikes and skin growths located throughout the body create a good disguise, making them completely invisible among the seaweed. The size of these fish is small - from 2 to30 centimeters depending on the species.
Seahorses belong to the stickleback order, the needle family, that is, these fish are the closest relatives of sea needles. In total, there are about 50 species of seahorses in nature. The largest of them are called sea dragons. Currently, the number of some species is rapidly declining due to mass capture. Skate meat is used in cooking and medicine in Asian countries, dried fish are popular as souvenirs.
