Have you ever seen a live seahorse? They are a fish and breath through gills. They have a swim bladder to control their buoyancy and by changing the amount of air in it, they can move up and down in the water or stay at one level without sinking. They also have three fins that they use to swim forward in the water. Their tail is used to wrap around coral or sea weed to anchor them in one place.
There are several varieties of seahorse. The most recognizable pictures are of the long snout seahorse or the big bellied seahorse. There are small ones about three inches long and the largest are up to 14 inches long from nose to the tip of their tail.
The sea dragon is a species of seahorse. In this group there is a weedy sea dragon as seen above, and the leafy sea dragon seen below. Because they are small, 10 to 12 inches, they were difficult to photograph, and the light was very dim.
The Leafy Dragon is the marine emblem of South Australia. This variety is found in the waters off Tasmania and Western Australia. Their tails are not able to grab onto things and they tend to drift with the tide or swim with their fins. Unlike the seahorses who are more vertical, the sea dragons are more horizontal.
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You can follow me on facebook or twitter using the buttons at the top right of this page. Please leave a comment to tell me where you have seen a seahorse, even if it was just a picture.
Beautiful pictures, Doug! I did not realize there were that many species of Sea Horses.
Thanks for sharing!
A little web search shows a lot of interesting information about these curious fish.
So interesting!!! I would love to see seahorses and seadragons!!! Your pictures are fantastic!!
Thanks Alice. Maybe on your trip to Toronto. Don’t forget to bring your camera.