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Seahorse
World Distribution
Threats
Seahorsesandpipe ishesworldwidefacemanythreats
intheirnaturalenvironment.Seahorsesarecaughtand
removedfromtheirnaturalhabitatstobeshippedtoothercountriesforuseaspetsortoenhancetheappearance
ofanaquarium.Unfortunately,
manyoftheseanimalsdonot
thriveunderthesecircumstances.Seahorsesandpipe ishesare
ofteninadvertentlycaughtin
shrimptrawlnets.Whenthese
netsaredraggedontheocean
loor,thesecreaturesmay
becomeentangledinthem.
Despitetheirbonyappearance,
seahorsesandpipe ishesare
oftenpreyeduponbyseaturtles,
pbs.org
larger ish,andhumans.Annually,
millionsofseahorsesarecollectedanddriedforusein
traditionalAsianmedicinesandfooddishes.
Did you know…?
 Seahorsescannotcurltheirtailbackward.
 Seahorses(aswellaspipe ishesandseadragons)
canchangetheircolorstobettermatchtheir
environment.
 Apartofthehumanbrainiscalledthe
“hippocampus.”Itispartiallyresponsiblefor
formingnewmemories.
Thisbrochureisfundedwithquali ied
outercontinentalshelfoilandgas
revenuesbytheCoastalImpactAssistance
Program,UnitedStatesFishandWildlife
Service,U.S.DepartmentoftheInterior
throughagrantawardtotheMississippi
DepartmentofMarineResources.
Seahorsesarefoundinnearlyalloftheworld’s
oceanbasins.Seahorsestendtopreferwarm,
tropicalwatersclosertothecoastthanthecolder,
deeperwatersoftheopenocean.Theapproximate
distributionofseahorsesishighlightedbelow.
Seahorses
Genus:
Hippocampus
Remember
TheInstituteforMarineMammalStudies(IMMS)
isanon-pro itorganizationestablishedin1984for
thepurposesofpubliceducation,conservation,
andresearchofmarinemammalsandseaturtles
inthewildandunderhumancare.Locatedin
Gulfport,MS,IMMShasbeenanactiveparticipant
oftheNationalStrandingNetworksinceits
inception.IMMSisapremiereorganizationinthe
Mississippi-Louisiana-Alabamasub-regionofthe
GulfCoastwiththecapabilityandexpertisetocare
forsickandinjuredmarinemammalsandseaturtles.Additionally,IMMSpromotespublicawarenessofmarineconservationissuesthroughits
involvementinthecommunity.
news.nationalgeographic.com
PreparedbyMelissaWelsh,2012
InstituteforMarineMammalStudies
P.O.Box207Gulfport,MS39502
Phone:228.896.9182Fax:228.896.9183
Email:[email protected]
Website:www.IMMS.org
TheInstituteforMarineMammalStudies
General Information
Thereareapproximately35speciesofseahorses
foundthroughouttheworld.Seahorseshavesmall
insandarenotstrongswimmers.Theseanimals
tendtoliveincoralreefsandusetheirprehensile
(abletograsp)tailstowraparoundseaweedor
corals.Theyhavesnouts,lendingthemtheirGreek
familyname,Syngnathidae,whichmeans“fused
jaws.”Usingthis
snout,theseahorseisableto
drawsmallcrustaceans(e.g.,
crabs,shrimp)
intotheir
marinebio.net
mouths.
Seahorseshavealimiteddigestivesystemandmust
constantlyeattolive.Itiscommonforanindividual
seahorsetoconsumeover3,000brineshrimpaday!
References:
Seahorse Anatomy
Pipefish: Other
Syngnathids
Coronet-thepeakof
theheadisuniqueto
eachspeciesandpossiblyuniqueamong Pipe isharealso
individuals.
membersofthe
scienti icfamily,
Dorsal in-the inthe
Syngnathidae.
seahorseusesto
Pipe isheshavea
swimforward;itcan
snoutsimilarin
lutterataspeedof
shapetoa
35timespersecond.
seahorsethat
Pectoral ins–are
enablesthemto
fusedjaw.com
usedtosteerand
suctiontheirfood
stop.
pbs.org asifthroughastraw.Thereareapproximately200
separatespeciesofpipe ish.Ofthese200,thereare
severalspeciesthatliveortravelinfreshwater.
Manyspeciesofseahorsesaremonogamous(having
Theyaretypicallyfoundinwarmtemperateand
onemate).
tropicalwaters
Thefemale
aroundtheworld.
chooses
TheGulfofMexicois
hersuitor
hometoseveral
anda
speciesofpipe ish
courtship
includingtheGulf
dancefolpipe ish(Syngnathus
lows.This
scovelli),thechain
dancecan
divegellery.com
pipe ish(Syngnathus
lastfornearly
louisianae),andtheduskypipe ish(Syngnathus
eighthours.Withthecourtshipcomplete,thefeloridae).Aswiththeseahorse,itisthemalepipemaledepositshereggsintothemale’sbroodpouch
ishwhichhastheresponsibilityofbrooding
(distendedareaonthelowerseahorseintheabove
(protectandhatch)theyoung.Pipe
isheshavea
picture)wheretheyarefertilized.Aftertwotosix
broodpouchontheirventral(belly)side.This
weeks,theyoungaredevelopedandreadytobe
pouchiswherethefemaledepositshereggstobe
expelledfromthemale’sbroodpouch.Theyoung
fertilized,incubated,developed,andbirthed.
arriveintheworldlookinglikeminiatureadults.
Reproduction
woodbridge.tassed.edu.au
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Actinopterygii
Order:Syngnathiformes
Family:Syngnathidae
Genus:Hippocampus news.nationalgeographic.com
Scientific Classification
References:
Coulombe, D. A. (1991). The seaside naturalist, a guide to study at
the seashore. (p. 165). New York: Fireside. www.animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/
information/Hippocampus_erectus.html Wilson,A.B.;Vincent,A.;Ahnesjo,I.;&Meyer,A.(2001).Male
pregnancyinseahorsesandpipe ishes(familySyngnathidae):rapiddiversi icationfrompaternalbroodpouchmorphologyinferredfromamolecularphylogeney.TheJournal
ofHeredity,92(2),159-166.
www.animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/ ish/seahorse/
www.news.nationalgeographic.com/
news/2002/06/0614_seahorse_recov.html
Manyspeciesofbothseahorsesandpipe ishesare
consideredvulnerable,threatened,orendangered.
Habitatdestruction,waterpollution,andhuman
interactionareresponsibleforpopulationdeclines
inthesespecies.