Musings of a Musical Biologist

These miniature horses are extremely complex creatures that have a very interesting autonomy. While seahorses appear to be very different from other fishes in the sea, they are fish nonetheless. Let’s dive a little deeper into the wonderful world of seahorses. They are unique in appearance, with their horse-like head, prehensile tail, independently moving eyes, and brood pouch. They have long, tubular snouts and small, toothless mouths. Their bodies are covered with consecutive rings of bony plates. The name of the genus that contains sea horses is taken from the Greek words hippos (meaning “horse”) and kampos (meaning “sea monster”). Sea horses are rather immobile, swimming more slowly than other fishes. When swimming they maintain a vertical position and propel themselves forward using a soft-rayed dorsal fin. They use pectoral fins located on the side of the head to maneuver. Some scientists contend that this upright swimming posture evolved shortly after the expansion of sea gr...