Download The Dwarf Seahorse

Marli Stevens
Animal Biology
Prof. Hampton
12/7/11
The Dwarf Seahorse
On the class field trip to The Living Planet Aquarium on December 1, 2011, I
found a wall with different seahorses on display. I have always been fascinated with
seahorses ever since I was a little and decided to do my report on the Dwarf Seahorse. I
will be explaining the different features, scientific elements, ancestry, and other important
information on this small, aquatic creature.
The Dwarf Seahorse is of the species: zosterae; genus: Hippocampus; Family:
Syngnathidae; Order: Gasterosteiformes; Class: Actinopterygii; Subphylum: Vertebrata;
Phylum: Chordata; and Kingdom: Animalia. In the wild, the Dwarf Seahorse can be
found with cirri but because they can actually be kept in captivity as pets, many lose their
cirri once born or put in captivity. This small creature is about one to one and a half
inches long, have many color variations which may change due to food, stress,
environment, mood, and other factors, have tiny, brittle bones, a head like a horse, fins
like a fish, tail like a monkey, and pouches like a kangaroo.
This seahorse has a coronet at the top of the head, large eyes, long snout, gill
openings, pectoral fins, dorsal fins, bony plates covering the body, tail, brood pouch (in
males, anal fin, and keel. The Dwarf Seahorse is the slowest fish on the planet because it
swims upright with only the dorsal fin. They swim at about five feet per hour according
to the Guinness World Records book.
Dwarf Seahorses live in sea grasses in shallow coastal seawater regions, usually
in the western Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and southeastern U.S.
Usually the water needs to be between 72 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit (22 to 25 degrees
Celsius). The Dwarf Seahorse usually eats at the sea floor and its diet consists of live fish
Marli Stevens
Animal Biology
Prof. Hampton
12/7/11
larvae, brine shrimp nauplii, copepods, and other shrimp larvae. It is not an aggressive
feeder and uses its snout as a straw to suck up its food and eat. Because of this seahorses’
diet, it helps keep population numbers at a normal level in its ecosystem.
Because this animal is so tiny and brittle, they break down so quickly that much
of their past, including their ancestry, is a mystery. But recently, information has been
found that points to seahorses emerging about 25 million years ago and that, through
genetic research, the pygmy pipehorse and other pipefishes and pipehorses are actually an
ancestor many, if not all, seahorses. There are about 38 different species of seahorses in
the world, and they evolved from these pipefishes and pipehorses millions of years ago
into swimming vertically and hitching onto vertical sea vegetation. Swimming and
hitching vertically help them to hide from predators by camouflaging themselves with the
vegetation.
Sexual Maturity occurs around 3 months of age and Dwarf Seahorses usually only
live 12 to 18 months. The reproductive cycle is very interesting in this species. The
female will deposit eggs into the male’s brood pouch, where the male will fertilize and
carry the eggs for about 9-10 days. The seahorse babies will hatch and will leave the
pouch the last day of the male’s pregnancy; between 5 to 30 babies can be born each
brood and a male seahorse get pregnant again every 10 days. After the birth, the parents
leave their offspring to fend for themselves. In captivity, the babies seem to fend better
in a tank separate from their parents for unknown reasons, although it is safe for them to
stay in the same tank as the parents if needed.
Humans have found Dwarf Seahorses and other seahorses beautiful and inspiring
because of their looks. Because of this, they have been added into tales, myths, stories,
Marli Stevens
Animal Biology
Prof. Hampton
12/7/11
and have been used for medicines, souvenirs, and now pets. Because people have a sortof love with these creatures, they have been called a “flagship species” because people
recognize the need to conserve their environment, which will help other threatened
species to be conserved in their environments as well. Removal of this species would
deplete the beauty humans find in this animal, the medicine humans use, and perhaps the
well-being of the habitat where they live.
I’m very happy to learn more about my childhood fascination with the Dwarf
Seahorse and learned much more about this small animal than I expected. I learned about
their anatomy, their scientific characteristics, reproductive cycles, habitats, human
relations, and more. I hope to return to The Living Planet Aquarium again soon and see
the small seahorses again now that I understand them better and hope to see them in the
wild one day.
Marli Stevens
Animal Biology
Prof. Hampton
12/7/11
Works Cited
"Dwarf Seahorse." Wikipedia. Wikipedia, 07 Dec 2011. Web. 8 Dec 2011.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarf_seahorse>.
Dwarf Seahorse Picture.
<http://www.tnaqua.org/Libraries/Fish/Dwarf_Seahorse.sflb.ashx>.
"H. zosterae." Seahorse Source. Seahorse Source Inc., 2005. Web. 8 Dec 2011.
<http://www.seahorsesource.com/zosterae.html>.
Irey, Brittany. "Hippocampus zosterae." Animal Diversity Web. The Regents of
University of Michigan, 1995-2008. Web. 8 Dec 2011.
Kaplan, Matt. "How Seahorses Evolved to Swim "Standing Up"." National Geographic.
National Geographic Society, 22 May 2009. Web. 8 Dec 2011.
"Seahorse Anatomy." Animal Corner. Animal Corner, 2003-2011. Web. 8 Dec 2011. <
http://www.animalcorner.co.uk/marine/seahorse/seahorse_anatomy.html >.
"Seahorses: Flagships of Our Coasts." ProQuest. CSA, 2003. Web. 8 Dec 2011.
<http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/seahorses/overview.php>.
"Seahorses." National Wildlife Federation. National Wildlife Federation, 1996-2011.
Web. 8 Dec 2011. <http://www.nwf.org/Kids/RangerRick/Animals/Fish/Seahorses.aspx >.
The Living Planet Aquarium, Sandy, Utah, USA.
Weiss, Tami. "Dwarf Seahorses as Pets." Fused Jaw. N.p., 23 Feb 2009. Web. 8 Dec
2011. <http://www.fusedjaw.com/aquariumcare/dwarf-seahorses-as-pets/>.