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The seahorse and the sea draons are weird creatures. They are beautiful to look at, gente and graceful, but they aren't good swimmers and often die in storms. More bizarre, their males carry the younglings, not the female. However, their colors, grace and grace make them a pleasure to look upon. |
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| The 'Lined Seahorse' (or Spotted seahorse) In ancient Greek, hippos meant 'horse' and kampos meant 'sea monster', and so the seahorse's real name is 'Hippocampus', along with other varities of fish. The lined seahorse is about 15 cm (6 inches) long and lives about 4 years. |
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| Beautiful seahorse in rainbow colors - Hamburg, Germany. |
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| This is a leafy sea dragon. The leafy sea dragon is a master of camouflage, hiding among the plants from the many predators around it. |
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| This is the weedy sea dragon. It looks a little less and a bit more like a seahorse. They use their prodigious snout to suck up tiny creatures for food. A weird fact about this creature: It swims sideways! |
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| A beautiful and delicate looking sea dragon at Birch Aquarium in San Diego. The leafy sea dragon will get to a length of about 35 cm (13.8 inches). Its cousin, the weedy dragon, can reach bigger sizes of up to 46 cm (18 inches) in length. |
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| Lacking both teeth and a stomach, the seahorse must eat constantly to make up for its poor digestive skills. |
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| A blue and pink Leafy seadragon. Seadraons are mostly found near South and West Australia. |
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| A thorny (or spiny) seahorse. Mainly propelled by a small fin on its back, the seahorse is not the strongest of swimmers. When there's a storm, they often die as they cannot swim well enough to avoid being tossed around by it. |
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| A curious seahorse is looking for food. One of the strangest things about seahorses is that the male gets pregnant, not the female. |
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| Yet these are not pregnant seahorses, these are the Pot-Bellied seahorses, one of the largest seahorse species. |
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| A beautiful red thorny seahorse. This is one of many endangered seahorse species which were decimated for its use in traditional Chinese medicine. |
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| Incredibly effective camouflage. |
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| Stunning photos of a gray and a yellow seahorse at Zurich Zoo. |
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| A leafy sea dragon making friends with a weedy one. |
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| The leafy seadragon uses the fins along the side of its head to allow it to steer and turn. However, its outer skin is fairly rigid, limiting mobility. Individual leafy seadragons have been observed remaining in one location for extended periods of time (up to 68 hours) but will sometimes move for lengthy periods. The tracking of one individual indicated it moved at up to 150 meters (490 feet) per hour. |
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| The pygmy seahorse is found in coastal areas ranging from southern Japan and Indonesia to northern Australia and New Caledonia on reefs and slopes at a depth of 10–40 meters (33–130 ft) |
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| Close up of a leafy sea dragon. |
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| Close up of a weedy sea dragon (left) and eggs hanging on the male weedy sea dragon (right). |
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| Every morning, seahorse couples do a mating dance in order to reinforce their permanent bond. They will mate for life. |
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| The difference between a pot-bellied seahorse and a lined seahorse. |
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| A male courts a female for days before potentially mating. During the courting ritual, seahorses will curl their tails around each other. |
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| Married for life. |
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| Spectacular shot of two kissing seahorses. |
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| A thorny seahorse. Thorny sea horses can change their color at will to blend in with its enviornment. |
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| A lonley seahorse. |
Submitted by: Dani L.
