Seahorses Use Their Snouts as Tiny Vacuums

by Yemariam Bekele, age 10

Did you know sea horses got their name because their head is shaped like a land horse? Seahorses can be as small as an M&M. They are between 0.6 and 14 inches, and weigh up to 200 grams. Seahorses are ambush predators that use their tube-shaped snouts, like powerful vacuums, to capture hundreds of tiny meals in a single day. Seahorses do not have stomachs; this is why they have to eat many tiny meals during the day. Their meals are made up of small crustaceans.

Seahorses live near the coast or in warm tropical waters. They swim among plants such as seaweed. There are about 50 seahorse species including the spiny seahorse and the short snouted seahorse, which live near the UK and Ireland.

Seahorses use a brood pouch to reproduce. Females make the eggs and put them in the male’s brood pouch. Incubation lasts up to 45 days, and they can live up to five years.

Seahorses are special creatures of the sea. Their heads that resemble land horses make them easily identifiable and highlight their unique features that contribute to marine biodiversity.

[Source: National Geographic]