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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.