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Seahorse
A seahorse (also written ''sea-horse'' and ''sea horse'') is any of 46 species of small marine fish in the genus ''Hippocampus''. "Hippocampus" comes from the Ancient Greek (), itself from () meaning "horse" and () meaning "sea monster" or "sea animal". Having a head and neck suggestive of a horse, seahorses also feature segmented bony armour, an upright posture and a curled prehensile tail. Along with the pipefishes and seadragons (''Phycodurus'' and '' Phyllopteryx'') they form the family Syngnathidae. Habitat Seahorses are mainly found in shallow tropical and temperate salt water throughout the world, from about 45°S to 45°N. They live in sheltered areas such as seagrass beds, estuaries, coral reefs, and mangroves. Four species are found in Pacific waters from North America to South America. In the Atlantic, '' Hippocampus erectus'' ranges from Nova Scotia to Uruguay. '' H. zosterae'', known as the dwarf seahorse, is found in the Bahamas. Colonies have been ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hippocampus Erectus
The lined seahorse (''Hippocampus erectus''), northern seahorse or spotted seahorse, is a species of fish that belongs to the family Syngnathidae. ''H. erectus'' is a diurnal species with an approximate length of and lifespan of one to four years. The ''H. erectus'' species can be found in myriad colors, from greys and blacks to reds, greens, and oranges. The lined seahorse lives in the western Atlantic Ocean as far north as Canada and as far south as the Caribbean, Mexico, and Venezuela. It swims in an erect position and uses its dorsal and pectoral fins for guidance while swimming. Lined seahorses feed mainly on minute crustaceans and brine shrimp, which they suck in through their snout. They are able to suck their prey by creating a current of water leading directly into its snout. Since seahorses are weak swimmers, they must ambush their prey by blending into their surroundings, which they do rather easily. The lined seahorse's eyes can move independently of one another, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Short-snouted Seahorse
The short-snouted seahorse (''Hippocampus hippocampus'') is a species of seahorse in the family Syngnathidae. It was endemic to the Mediterranean Sea and parts of the North Atlantic, particularly around Italy and the Canary Islands. In 2007, colonies of the species were discovered in the River Thames around London and Southend-on-Sea. Their preferred habitat is shallow muddy waters, estuaries or seagrass beds. Protection In the United Kingdom they are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and two of the 27 Marine Conservation Zones designated in seas off England were established to protect populations and the habitats of short-snouted seahorses. In 2010, the London Zoo, which operates a short-snouted seahorse breeding programme, saw the birth of 918 baby seahorses. Regionally, the short-snouted seahorse is classified as Near Threatened in the Mediterranean and Data Deficient in Croatia. In Europe this species is normally caught as bycatch and such catches may be s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hippocampus Hippocampus
The short-snouted seahorse (''Hippocampus hippocampus'') is a species of seahorse in the family Syngnathidae. It was endemic to the Mediterranean Sea and parts of the North Atlantic, particularly around Italy and the Canary Islands. In 2007, colonies of the species were discovered in the River Thames around London and Southend-on-Sea. Their preferred habitat is shallow muddy waters, estuaries or seagrass beds. Protection In the United Kingdom they are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and two of the 27 Marine Conservation Zones designated in seas off England were established to protect populations and the habitats of short-snouted seahorses. In 2010, the London Zoo, which operates a short-snouted seahorse breeding programme, saw the birth of 918 baby seahorses. Regionally, the short-snouted seahorse is classified as Near Threatened in the Mediterranean and Data Deficient in Croatia. In Europe this species is normally caught as bycatch and such catches may be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Syngnathidae
The Syngnathidae is a family of fish which includes seahorses, pipefishes, and seadragons (''Phycodurus'' and '' Phyllopteryx''). The name is derived from grc, σύν (), meaning "together", and (), meaning "jaw". The fused jaw is one of the traits that the entire family have in common. Description and biology Syngnathids are found in temperate and tropical seas across the world. Most species inhabit shallow, coastal waters, but a few are known from the open ocean, especially in association with sargassum mats. They are characterised by their elongated snouts, fused jaws, the absence of pelvic fins, and by thick plates of bony armour covering their bodies. The armour gives them a rigid body, so they swim by rapidly fanning their fins. As a result, they are relatively slow compared with other fish but are able to control their movements with great precision, including hovering in place for extended periods. Uniquely, after syngnathid females lay their eggs, the male then fert ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hippocampus Zosterae
The dwarf seahorse (''Hippocampus zosterae'') is a species of seahorse found in the subtidal aquatic beds of the Bahamas and parts of the United States. It is threatened by habitat loss. According to ''Guinness World Records'', it is the slowest-moving fish, with a top speed of about per hour.Guinness Book of World Records (2009) It is most often white in color but can range from tan, brown, yellow and green. In the wild, it often has small skin growths called cirri that resemble algae. Description Like other seahorses, the dwarf seahorse has a head angled at right angles to its body and swims upright using its dorsal fin to propel it and its pectoral fins to steer. It grows to an average length of , with a maximum length of . The dwarf seahorse can live up to 2 years, but most commonly live around 1. It can be found in colors of beige, yellow, green, and black and may have white speckles, dark spots or protrusions and is well-camouflaged, the coloring usually matching the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prehensile Tail
A prehensile tail is the tail of an animal that has adapted to grasp or hold objects. Fully prehensile tails can be used to hold and manipulate objects, and in particular to aid arboreal creatures in finding and eating food in the trees. If the tail cannot be used for this it is considered only partially prehensile - such tails are often used to anchor an animal's body to dangle from a branch, or as an aid for climbing. The term ''prehensile'' means "able to grasp" (from the Latin ''prehendere'', to take hold of, to grasp). Evolution One point of interest is the distribution of animals with prehensile tails. The prehensile tail is predominantly a New World adaptation, especially among mammals. Many more animals in South America have prehensile tails than in Africa and Southeast Asia. It has been argued that animals with prehensile tails are more common in South America because the forest there is denser than in Africa or Southeast Asia. In contrast, less dense forests such a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phycodurus
The leafy seadragon (''Phycodurus eques'') or Glauert's seadragon, is the only member of the genus ''Phycodurus'' and is a marine fish in the family Syngnathidae, which includes seadragons, pipefish, and seahorses. It is found along the southern and western coasts of Australia. The name is derived from the appearance, with long leaf-like protrusions coming from all over the body. These protrusions are not used for propulsion; they serve only as camouflage. The leafy seadragon propels itself by means of a pectoral fin on the ridge of its neck and a dorsal fin on its back closer to the tail end. These small fins are almost completely transparent and difficult to see as they undulate minutely to move the creature sedately through the water, completing the illusion of floating seaweed. Popularly known as "leafies", it is the marine emblem of the state of South Australia and a focus for local marine conservation. Taxonomy The generic name ''Phycodurus'' is derived from th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coral Reef
A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of Colony (biology), colonies of coral polyp (zoology), polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. Coral belongs to the Class (biology), class Anthozoa in the animal phylum Cnidaria, which includes sea anemones and jellyfish. Unlike sea anemones, corals secrete hard carbonate exoskeletons that support and protect the coral. Most reefs grow best in warm, shallow, clear, sunny and agitated water. Coral reefs first appeared 485 million years ago, at the dawn of the Early Ordovician, displacing the microbial and sponge reefs of the Cambrian. Sometimes called ''rainforests of the sea'', shallow coral reefs form some of Earth's most diverse ecosystems. They occupy less than 0.1% of the world's ocean area, about half the area of France, yet they provide a home for at least 25% of all marine species, including fis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seagrass
Seagrasses are the only flowering plants which grow in marine environments. There are about 60 species of fully marine seagrasses which belong to four families ( Posidoniaceae, Zosteraceae, Hydrocharitaceae and Cymodoceaceae), all in the order Alismatales (in the clade of monocotyledons). Seagrasses evolved from terrestrial plants which recolonised the ocean 70 to 100 million years ago. The name ''seagrass'' stems from the many species with long and narrow leaves, which grow by rhizome extension and often spread across large " meadows" resembling grassland; many species superficially resemble terrestrial grasses of the family Poaceae. Like all autotrophic plants, seagrasses photosynthesize, in the submerged photic zone, and most occur in shallow and sheltered coastal waters anchored in sand or mud bottoms. Most species undergo submarine pollination and complete their life cycle underwater. While it was previously believed this pollination was carried out without ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Estuaries
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environments and are an example of an ecotone. Estuaries are subject both to marine influences such as tides, waves, and the influx of saline water, and to fluvial influences such as flows of freshwater and sediment. The mixing of seawater and freshwater provides high levels of nutrients both in the water column and in sediment, making estuaries among the most productive natural habitats in the world. Most existing estuaries formed during the Holocene epoch with the flooding of river-eroded or glacially scoured valleys when the sea level began to rise about 10,000–12,000 years ago. Estuaries are typically classified according to their geomorphological features or to water-circulation patterns. They can have many different names, such as bay ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lower Miocene
The Early Miocene (also known as Lower Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene Epoch made up of two stages: the Aquitanian and Burdigalian stages. The sub-epoch lasted from 23.03 ± 0.05 Ma to 15.97 ± 0.05 Ma (million years ago). It was preceded by the Oligocene epoch. As the climate started to get cooler, the landscape started to change. New mammals evolved to replace the extinct animals of the Oligocene epoch. The first members of the hyena and weasel family started to evolve to replace the extinct '' Hyaenodon'', entelodonts and bear-dogs. The chalicotheres survived the Oligocene epoch. A new genus of entelodont called '' Daeodon'' evolved in order to adapt to the new habitats and hunt the new prey animals of the Early Miocene epoch; it quickly became the top predator of North America. But it became extinct due to competition from ''Amphicyon'', a newcomer from Eurasia. ''Amphicyon'' bested ''Daeodon'' because the bear-dog Amphicyonidae is an extinct family of terrestr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mangroves
A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in several plant families. They occur worldwide in the tropics and subtropics and even some temperate coastal areas, mainly between latitudes 30° N and 30° S, with the greatest mangrove area within 5° of the equator. Mangrove plant families first appeared during the Late Cretaceous to Paleocene epochs, and became widely distributed in part due to the movement of tectonic plates. The oldest known fossils of mangrove palm date to 75 million years ago. Mangroves are salt-tolerant trees, also called halophytes, and are adapted to live in harsh coastal conditions. They contain a complex salt filtration system and a complex root system to cope with saltwater immersion and wave action. They are adapted to the low-oxygen conditions of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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