Sea horses are peculiar fishes with unusual appearance, belong to family iglovy group of kolyushkoobrazny. They received the name for similarity to a chess figure. About 50 species of sea horses, the majority of whom is included in the Red List, are known.
Habitat
Sea horses prefer coral reeves and underwater thickets of tropical and moderate waters of the World Ocean. Some types adapted to life and in fresh water. These are very inactive fishes, they spend the most part of time, having hooked by a tail for corals or a grass and waiting production. Eat small crustaceans and shrimps. As soon as the victim comes nearer, sea horses blow out cheeks and soak up it as if the vacuum cleaner.
One of features of sea horses is that their body is located in water vertically. It is reached thanks to a peculiar structure of a swimming bubble - it is divided by a partition into head and main parts. The head bubble easier belly, it also provides to the fad vertical position when swimming.
The sizes of sea horses, depending on a look, vary from 2 to 20 cm. The more an individual, the more long it life cycle.
Masters of masking
Sea horses perfectly own art of a camouflage. They cannot quickly swim, but are capable to hide dexterously among seaweed and corals from the enemies. Skates accept coloring of that place where are and become absolutely indistinguishable from the environment. Besides, the body of skates of some types is taenioid outgrowths which wave in water, reminding sargassovy seaweed. During courting the male can gain color of the girlfriend who interested him. Serves as protection against enemies also dense bone plates which covered a body. This armor very strong, it cannot almost be broken.
Careful fathers
Sea horses are known for the monogamy, they live married couples and seldom change partners. These are the only animals at whom males bear posterity. During love dance the female by means of a special sexual nipple puts berries in a special vyvodkovy bag of a male. There berries are impregnated and whitebaits begin to develop. The bag protects them and provides food from an organism of a male. Skates can repeatedly copulate, and in a bag there are whitebaits and berries at different stages of development. Childbirth proceeds difficult and sometimes drags on for several days. Right after the birth the little sea horses rise to a water surface and gather air in the swimming bubbles.
Endangered species
Many species of sea horses are on the verge of extinction now, from total disappearance they are saved by only big fertility. They are used in cookery of some countries, in east medicine. The powder prepared from their meat is a basis of medicines for treatment of atherosclerosis, asthma, impotence, skin diseases. Souvenirs from the dried-up skates have great popularity. Often they are caught for fans of aquariums though to contain skates in bondage quite hard and expensively.