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Science Wednesday: Seahorses!

¿Qué hay £ers?! What 'up?! The sun is soothing and the air is warm, so let's either take a delicious sunbath (please use SPF-30 or higher sunscreen) or just stay inside and enjoy the fresh delicacies directly from the editorial crew at the Silver 'n Black sea.

Because Wednesdays are a little slow, at least for me, I thought the idea of start posting interesting "Did you know" facts regarding the Ocean/Marine life. I'm a graduated Marine Biologist next to start my PhD in Oceanography. My goal is to be a high ranked Coast Guard Marine Science Officer. As an MSO, you play an essential role of enforcing environmental regulations for the safety of the marine environment plus the security of the coastline.

So! Today's guest is: The amazing Hippocampus! Or commonly known as, Seahorses!

Seahorse

Photo by George Grall

Did you know? Seahorses are true fishes and have fins just like other fishes and are related to the pipefish? Well jes. There are about 35 official species of seahorse and their life span ranges from 1 to 5 years aprox. in the wild. Also, they all live in tropical waters all over the Planet. Seahorses like to live in beds of seaweed, coral reefs or seagrass near the shore. They use their powerful tails to attach themselves to coral or any sea veggie so they won't float away. Seahorses swim upright a characteristic not shared by their previously named relatives pipefishes, which swim horizontally.

Seahorses have no teeth and no stomach! Food passes through their digestive systems so quickly, they must eat almost constantly to stay alive. They use their snouts to suck up plankton, little shrimps and fish larvae, and swallow them whole. Nom nom nom. Delicious. The smallest seahorse is only 0.6" (01.5cm) in length aprox.; the largest is 14"(35cm) long aprox.

One amazing fact is that it is the male, not the female seahorse, who gives birth and cares for the young seahorses! The male seahorse is the one who has a pouch (like marsupials) where the fertilized eggs develop into baby seahorses until it's time for them to be born. Isn't that awesome?!

Well, that's all for now! Have a pleasant afternoon and bon appetite if you're eating anything!

:)

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