the.com/seahorse
the only animal where dad gets pregnant and pays for it
means A small marine fish with a horse-shaped head, an upright swimming posture, and a curled prehensile tail, in which the male carries and births the young from a belly pouch.
from A straightforward English compound of 'sea' and 'horse,' named for the creature's unmistakable horse-like head. The naming instinct is ancient: the Greeks called it 'hippokampos,' from 'hippos' (horse) and 'kampos' (sea monster), a word that swam through Latin into the scientific genus 'Hippocampus' — which also lends its name to the seahorse-shaped curl of tissue deep in your brain.
- male pregnancy
- Females deposit eggs; males carry and birth them
- speed
- Slowest fish on Earth, top speed barely moves
- eyes
- Each eye swivels independently, like a chameleon
- loyalty
- Many pairs are monogamous, greeting mates daily
- no stomach
- Food passes so fast they must eat constantly
hippocampus — seahorse genus with 46 species found in shallow coastal waters worldwide
lined seahorse — hippocampus erectus, common atlantic species from nova scotia to uruguay
weedy sea dragon — phycodurus eques, australian seahorse relative with leaf-like appendages, south australian emblem