Which animal was a symbol of wisdom and fidelity. Animal symbolism

The Black Sea Seahorse is the indigenous inhabitant of the Black Sea, having formed into a separate species about 20 million years ago. Nature awarded him an original appearance, and in the course of evolution, unique opportunities and skills appeared that were not available to other inhabitants of the underwater world. Human actions put the skates on the brink of extinction, forcing biologists to include them in the Red Book.

Description

In biological encyclopedias, the Black Sea seahorse is named Hippocampus guttulatus (long-snouted seahorse) and belongs to the class of ray-finned fish. Its upper part is similar to a chess “horse”, and an elongated tubular mouth-pump (one third of the length of the head) only enhances the similarity. The head is perpendicular to the body and can move up / down, which other fish species are not able to do. The eyes work independently of each other, and the viewing angle reaches 300 degrees.

The body of the seahorse is elongated and slightly flattened laterally and is constantly upright due to the double air bubble, the upper section of which is smaller than the lower. It ends with a long and flexible tail without a fin blade, capable of folding into a ring. They skate cling to algae, hiding from danger or attacking prey from an ambush.

Sea Horse
Photo: http://zapcity.fr

For protective purposes, the body of the ridge is covered with horny plates, spikes of various lengths and outgrowths, which serve as an additional means of masking in the thickets of algae. The shell is of high strength and does not lose its properties even after drying. Having a brownish yellow color with small white dots, they are able to change color, adapting to the surrounding environment.

Seahorses swim vertically and not very fast, making up to 70 “swings” per second with the dorsal fin, helping themselves with oscillatory movements of the body and tail. Under the head are two more small fins, corresponding in their functions to the pectoral in “standard” forms of fish.

Males of a seahorse are usually larger and grow up to 20-21 centimeters, females up to 17-18. Normal life expectancy does not exceed 4-5 years.

Habitats and Nutrition

Seahorse lives in the waters of the Black, Azov and Mediterranean Sea, off the eastern shores of the Atlantic Ocean, from the Netherlands to the African coast. He selects places with a depth of up to 20 meters, with the obligatory presence of underwater vegetation, where he spends about 90% of his life, setting up ambushes and hiding from predators. Prefers water without a strong current.

Mostly they live in small groups of 3-5 individuals, almost never gathering in large quantities. But they can also create couples for life, especially living in artificial conditions of aquariums. At the same time, if one of the partners dies, the second mourns very much, which is noticeable by a change in behavior, and can also die.

The seahorse feeds with the help of a mouth-pump, drawing in food with great speed along with water, from distances up to 4 centimeters. Food is served by the small benthic inhabitants of the sea, crustaceans, fish fry, plankton, which he catches from an ambush in algae. It is worth noting the appetite of animals, "dining" at least 5 times a day and able to do this up to 10 hours a day.

An interesting fact: males, not females, bear and give birth to offspring

Spawning

Unlike most animals, males are responsible for the reproduction of seahorses, who bear and “feed” eggs and give birth to offspring. At the same time, females carefully choose their future father, and their mating dances can last 3 days. At this time, the skates sail in shallow water (up to 4 meters), swim together, periodically rising to the surface, exchange songs from click sounds and even “kiss”, touching with their mouth-pumps.

When the prelude ends, the female lays eggs (depending on size, from 10 to 650 pieces). To do this, an egg pocket bag is provided in the lower abdominal cavity of the male, penetrated by the circulatory system for supplying oxygen to developing larvae. After filling (sometimes the skate takes eggs from several females), its suture closes and overgrows, and the “father” carries out internal fertilization of the eggs.

Breeding of eggs takes about 4-5 weeks. All this time, the seahorse is in shallow water, without leaving a square meter of its "personal" area, where it hunts and hides. This is its territory, from where even “frivolous” females leave to provide the “nursing father” with a sufficient amount of food.

After the formation of fry, fully prepared for independent life, a difficult birth begins - the male can wriggle up to 2 days, trying to open the birth bag. Sometimes it all ends with his death. If everything went well, the little skates come out of their pockets and rise to the surface behind a breath of air (to fill the air bubble), then return to the “daddy”. For some time they live next to him, hiding in a "bag" in case of danger, but soon swim away and never return.

The use of seahorses

Seahorses are used by man in several areas, one of which is of an aesthetic nature. Vacationers of the Black Sea coast are willing to buy these original animals for souvenirs, or try to “domesticate” them by putting them in an aquarium. In the second case, death is also almost inevitable, since the skates do not tolerate change, especially if their “half” remains in the sea.

Another area in which seahorses are widely used is traditional medicine, especially among the peoples of Asia. According to traditional healers, animal drugs help in the treatment of baldness, skin diseases, atherosclerosis, cough and asthma. Especially popular in the treatment of impotence and sexual dysfunction. The ability to bind harmful carcinogens and toxic substances in the human body is also noted, which helps in the prevention of cancer.

Among unusual fish, the seahorse is distinguished by its special eccentricity: it is difficult to recognize fish in it. Let's talk a little about seahorses - why are they not like their other brothers in the fish class?

Almost all fish swim the same way: the body is horizontal and in the direction of movement. In seahorses, the body is vertical when swimming, or tilted forward slightly. A strange way of arranging the body when swimming in seahorses is associated with the structure of these fish.

Fins and swim bladder

In most fish, we see several fins: dorsal, caudal, anal, paired abdominal and paired pectoral. Seahorses have half less fins: they have only three fins that help them move in water:

• A very small fan-shaped dorsal fin is needed to move forward.
• Tiny pectoral fins help maintain vertical balance and control movement.

The swim bladder helps them maintain their body vertically.  It is located along the entire body, its front part comes into the head, which is typical only for this fish.

The swimming bladder is divided into two parts. The volume of the head of the bladder is noticeably larger than the abdominal. It is this structure of the swim bladder that contributes to the vertical position of the ridge when swimming. The seahorse is arranged like a float: the upper body is lighter than the lower. The center of gravity is shifted down - to the tail of the body, so the head was lighter and is up.

Reproduction: ritual morning greetings and discoloration of males

How seahorses breed is the incredible and strange uniqueness of this amazing fish. The male and the female seem to have exchanged roles - the male carries the cubs and gives birth. Scientists have learned about this recently - in the last century.

Before talking about reproduction, we must pay attention to the outer covers of the body of seahorses:

• The body of the seahorses is covered on top with bone plates that form a very strong spiny armor. This is a real carapace, which is difficult to break even in dead fish.
• The body of the female is completely covered with bone plates, while the male has no plates at the base of the abdomen. Because here is a voluminous leathery pocket in which he bears his offspring.

The reproduction of seahorses living in tropical seas has interesting behavioral features. Early in the morning, males make ritual greetings: each male swims around his chosen one, as if demonstrating a willingness to reproduce. It was noted that at these moments the shell of the male in the chest area is painted in dark color. With his head bowed, he moves in circles around the female, with his tail touching the bottom a little.

But what about the female? She reacts to this behavior of the male - begins to spin around herself after the male, but does not budge. In the breeding season, the greeting ritual is repeated every morning. Having completed this peculiar dance, the couple begins to “have breakfast”. Fish stay in a limited area and try to keep each other in sight. The closer the mating moment, the ritual of greeting becomes longer and can even last all day.

In temperate latitudes, males of sea horses during the breeding season inflate their leather bag so that the skin is very stretched and becomes almost white.

Mating and bearing

We continue to study the process of how seahorses breed, and how pairing occurs:

• For mating, it is necessary that the male and female mature at the same time.
• On the mating day, during the greeting ritual at some point, the female sharply raises her head and swims up.
• The male moves after her. At that moment, the female ovipositor is clearly visible in the female, and the bag is wide open in the male.
• The female directs the ovipositor into the wide opening of the bag and lays eggs there.
• The process of laying eggs takes place in several stages, each lasting several seconds. The female lays eggs until the bag is full (more than 600 eggs can fit in it).

If one of the partners is not ready, spawning is interrupted, and the whole process starts again. The number of laid eggs usually depends on the size of the male and on the type of fish. Different species for spawning produce from 30-60 eggs to 500 and more. For example, a long-snouted seahorse: a 10-12 centimeter-old female can lay more than 650 eggs.

Let's talk a little about seahorses - males:

• The male’s readiness for mating is also manifested in a change in the internal state of the skin of the pocket: from the inside, it becomes like a sponge filled with blood vessels.
• A large number of blood vessels on the inside of the bag plays an important role in the development of eggs. This is an amazing feature of the structure of male seahorses!

When the eggs are laid, and the bag is completely filled with a “priceless load”, the future daddy horse skates with an inflated pocket, looking like a unique “live stroller” filled with cubs.

The birth of small hippocampuses - seahorses

After 1-2 months, tiny fry are born - exact copies of their parents. The male squeezes his offspring through a special hole in the bag. Pushing the last cub, the daddy fish can sometimes experience very strong and tangible “labor pains”. Therefore, the appearance of babies in the world is a very exhausting process for the male.

Immediately after birth, the fry of seahorses become independent, because they do not receive any help from their parents. They immediately begin to eat after leaving the bag. Different behavioral strategies have different behaviors: fry of some species move with the current, others remain at the place of birth.

Are seahorses monogamous?

For a long time, it was believed that seahorses are monogamous - mating with one regular partner.

Probably, the first naturalists who observed this behavior in one or two species concluded that this is characteristic of all seahorses. Over time, observations by both amateur aquarists and ichthyologist scientists have proven that this is a myth. Seahorses are not monogamous at all.

British ichthyologists examined the sexual behavior of different types of seahorses and saw that individuals could “flirt” with 25 different partners during the day. For example, British spiky seahorses in only five pairs were true to each other, but twelve pairs were not.

In the home aquarium, there were also cases when the male took eggs from two females at the same time. It is likely that similar behavior during reproduction can be observed in nature as well.

Signs of courtship in seahorses are: color change, synchronized swimming, weaving tails.

Seahorses menu in nature and in the aquarium

What do sea horses eat in nature? Their food is the smallest zooplankton (crustaceans). By type of food, they are ambush predators:

• Having camouflage camouflage, caught on the seaweed with its tail, the fish stands upright in the water and tracks its prey.
• Noticing the crustacean, the skate examines it for a couple of seconds, amusingly rolling his eyes.
• Then he swells his cheeks, so high pressure is created in his mouth.
• And immediately, like a vacuum cleaner, he draws a crustacean into his mouth and swallows it.
• Production can be drawn from a distance of 4 cm.

Seahorses feed up to 10 hours a day and can eat more than 3,000 thousand Artemia crustaceans. In the aquarium, these gluttonous fish eagerly eat shrimp, live and frozen mysids, artemia, daphnia, bloodworms. It is recommended to feed them daily twice a day, and the food should be varied. On some Artemia skates may feel hungry.

The place of the seahorse in the fish system, Red Book and 2 hryvnias

Seahorses are small sea fish ranging in size from 2 to 30 cm. They belong to the type of chordate animals, to the subtype of vertebrates, the superclass of fish to the class of bone fish and the subclass of ray-finned fish, to the order of spiny-like fish, to the needle family, and the genus of seahorses. The closest relatives of seahorses are sea needles, in which the male also carries the offspring.

Seahorses are currently on the verge of extinction. Many species are listed in the Red Book, for example, long-snouted seahorse from the Black Sea. This horse is depicted on a coin with a face value of 2 hryvnia, which was issued by the National Bank of Ukraine.

The massive catch of these exotic fish for making souvenirs led to their complete disappearance in the recreation areas of the Black Sea. And since 1994, the Black Sea population of this species is listed in the Red Book of Ukraine, and its capture is prohibited.

Children really like seahorses. Bookmark “Seahorse” with your child and, in the process of completing a creative assignment, study the features of the appearance of this amazing fish.

Seahorses are known to everyone. They swim vertically, which is not typical for fish, and their appearance is so memorable that it is difficult to find a person who is not familiar with the profile of a seahorse. This fish has been known to man since ancient times. He uses it to this day for the preparation of medicinal potions for asthma and skin diseases, despite the prohibition of fishing. Of the 32 species of seahorses, 30 are listed in the Red Book.

Among the fish, the seahorse is known for monogamous, i.e. for keeping partners faithful to the end of their lives. Their courtship with the breeding period is very touching, and the male is engaged in bearing the offspring. An interesting experiment was conducted. One female and two males were placed in the aquarium. After courtship, the female gave preference to one male, to whom she laid her unfertilized eggs. After this, the "pregnant" male was removed to another aquarium. Left alone with the other male, the female, although paying attention to his courtship, but the matter did not reach the conclusion of the offspring.

Seahorses are the only animals on our planet in which males carry an unborn trifle. To do this, they have a special bag on their stomach, in which the female lays eggs, and the male fertilizes them with his sperm already inside.

When the first male returned to the aquarium, the female again chose her “first love”, although invitations came from both males equally. And again after fertilization, the male was removed from the aquarium, observing the behavior of the female. During six reproduction cycles, the female chose only one male.

By the way, the birth of the male is very painful, and at the end of their seahorse can die, leaving behind up to 1,500 miniature skates.

The great fecundity of seahorses, as well as the fact that fry develop in the father’s “womb”, made their offspring quite tenacious compared to the usual fish standards. The lion's share of all the offspring of other fish dies even in the form of eggs, and the trifle of a seahorse develops directly inside an adult fish. And although only 5% of thousands of fry will grow and be able to continue the genus, this is offset by the great fecundity of the skates. After the sea horses appear in the water, the male ceases to patronize them, and they set off for free swimming.

An analysis of the structure of the seahorse confirms that this fish came from a sea needle about 13 million years ago. Indeed, just a glance at the sea needle says that it is a “straightened” seahorse. Presumably, this division into two species occurred due to the formation of vast areas of shallow water, which allowed widespread marine thickets and coral reefs. Living in such areas required a protective color from the fish. As a result, seahorses acquired green camouflage for living in mangroves. For coral reefs, the color of the seahorses is different — bright red and yellow.

Also, seahorses can slightly change their color. So, while courting a female, they can acquire the color of a girlfriend who interests them.

Sea horses that are on the brink of extinction are very difficult to breed in captivity. It is known that fish locked inside the aquarium become stressed and are susceptible to various diseases. Therefore, in captivity, seahorses live only in aquariums, most fully repeating the atmosphere of their natural habitat. In this case, you can count on the appearance of offspring. The use of seahorses as exotic aquarium fish has prompted some people to artificially modify their bodies. To do this, the tail of the seahorse is bent in the opposite direction to give the animal the shape of a letter S.

Seahorse is a small-sized fish that is a member of the Needle family from the Pestaceae order. Studies have shown that seahorse is a highly altered needle fish. Today, a seahorse is a rather rare creature. In this article you will find a description and photo of a seahorse, learn a lot of new and interesting about this extraordinary creation.

Seahorse looks very unusual and the shape of the body resembles a chess piece of a horse. Seahorse fish has many long bone spikes and various leathery outgrowths on its body. Due to this body structure, the seahorse is invisible among algae and remains inaccessible to predators. The seahorse looks amazing, it has small fins, its eyes rotate independently of each other, and its tail is twisted into a spiral. Seahorse looks diverse, because it can change the color of its scales.

The seahorse looks small, its size depends on the species and varies from 4 to 25 cm. In water, the seahorse swims vertically, unlike other fish. This is due to the fact that the swimming bubble of the seahorse consists of the abdominal and head parts. The head bubble is larger than the abdominal one, which allows the seahorse to maintain a vertical position when swimming.

Now the seahorse is found less and less and is on the verge of extinction due to the rapid decline in numbers. The reasons for the disappearance of the seahorse are many. The main one is the destruction by man of both the fish itself and its habitats. Off the coast of Australia, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines, skates are massively caught. Exotic appearance and bizarre shape of the body became the reason that people began to make gift souvenirs from them. For beauty, they tail artificially bend their tail and give the body the shape of the letter "S", but in nature skates do not look like that.

Another reason that contributes to the reduction of the seahorses population is that they are a delicacy. Food lovers appreciate the taste of these fish, especially the eyes and liver of seahorses. In a restaurant, the cost of one portion of such a dish costs $ 800.

In total there are about 50 species of seahorses, 30 of which are already listed in the Red Book. Fortunately, seahorses are very prolific and at one time can produce more than a thousand fry, which allows the horses to not disappear. Sea horses are bred in captivity, but this fish is very whimsical in maintenance. One of the most extravagant seahorses is the seahorse-rag, which you can see below in the photo.

Seahorse lives in tropical and subtropical seas. Seahorse fish lives mainly at a shallow depth or near the shore and leads a sedentary lifestyle. Seahorse lives in dense thickets of algae and other marine vegetation. It attaches with its flexible tail to the stems of plants or corals, remaining almost invisible due to its body covered with various outgrowths and spikes.

Fish seahorse changes color to completely merge with the environment. Thus, the seahorse is successfully masked not only from predators, but also during the extraction of food. Seahorse is very bony, so few people want to feast on them. The main hunter for seahorse is a large land crab. Seahorse can travel long distances. To do this, he attaches his tail to the fins of various fish and holds on to them until the “free taxi” swims into the algae.

What do seahorses eat?

Seahorses eat crustaceans and shrimp. Seahorses eat very interestingly. The tubular stigma, like a pipette, draws prey into the mouth along with water. Seahorses eat quite a lot and hunt for almost a whole day, taking short breaks for a couple of hours.

During the day, seahorses eat about 3 thousand plankton crustaceans. But seahorses eat almost any food, if only it does not exceed the size of the mouth. Seahorse fish is a hunter. With its flexible tail, the seahorse clings to algae and remains motionless until the prey is in the necessary proximity to the head. Then the seahorse absorbs water along with food.

How do seahorses breed?

Seahorses breed in a rather unusual way, because the male carries the fry in them. Seahorses often have monogamous pairs. The breeding season of seahorses is an amazing sight. A couple who is about to enter into a marriage is held together by their tails and dances in the water. In the dance, the skates are pressed against each other, after which the male opens a special pocket in the abdominal area, into which the female throws eggs. In the future, the male carries the offspring within a month.

Seahorses breed quite often and bring great offspring. A seahorse gives birth to one thousand or more fry at a time. Fry is born an absolute copy of adult individuals, only very tiny. Babies born are left to their own devices. In nature, a seahorse lives for about 4-5 years.

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Many have seen these marine life on TV or in aquariums, but not everyone knows how interesting facts about seahorse may surprise. These beautiful representatives of fish amaze with their unique properties. However, in the wild it is very difficult to watch them. Moreover, the number of seahorses has recently declined sharply due to the destruction of their habitats.

1. Seahorses are the only fish having a neck. Scientists have proven that seahorses are relatives of needle fish. True, during the evolution of their body has changed a lot. Unlike other fish, skates are located vertically in the water due to the fact that the swimming bladder is distributed throughout the body. The S-shaped body shape allows skates to hunt successfully from shelter. They freeze in the midst of floods or reefs, and when a tiny larva passes by, they capture it by turning their heads.
2. Skates can ride "fish". Thanks to its curved tail, seahorses can travel long distances. They grab onto the fins of the perch and hold on until the fish swims in the thickets of algae. And skates grab their pair with their tail and swim in an embrace.
3. The eyes of the skates move independently of one another. The organ of vision of a seahorse is similar to the eyes of a chameleon. One eye of these fish can look forward, and the second - to see what is happening behind.
4. Skates of the master of disguise. Avoiding numerous enemies of seahorses allows the property to change color depending on the location. Just like chameleons, skates adjust the color of their scales to the color of coral or algae, which is why they are practically invisible.
5. Seahorses have great appetite. They have no teeth, they don’t even have a stomach. In order not to die, you have to eat this fish all the time. With their proboscis, the skates draw in plankton, small larvae and crustaceans. And it happens so quickly that it’s hard to track.

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6. Almost no one eats seahorses. These small fish can become prey of other predators unless by chance. They are almost entirely composed of bones, spikes and scales, so there are few hunters for them, except perhaps stingrays and large crabs.
7. Seahorses are stressed. Mortal danger is often stressful for seahorses. These fish feel good in clean, calm water. Strong pitching at sea leads to exhaustion of their strength. And with a sudden change of place of stay, they can die at all. Therefore, it is difficult to breed skates in aquariums; in an artificial environment, they poorly take root.
8. The female herself chooses the male. We can say that seahorses have matriarchy. After all, it is the females who decide which of the males to choose as a spouse.
9. Seahorses perform mating dances. For several days, the female performs a peculiar dance together with the alleged chosen one, rising to the surface of the water and sinking to the bottom, interlacing with tails. If the male lags behind the bride, she will most likely leave him and will look for another, more profitable party.
10. Male seahorses are "pregnant". If the female has chosen a suitable male, she remains faithful to him until the end of her life. She entrusts the male with carrying eggs and taking care of the offspring. The female transfers the eggs to a special bag on the body of the male. There, future skates grow for a month and a half. And then full-fledged fish are born. One male can produce from 5 to 1.5 thousand fry at the same time. However pregnant males cannot be called pregnant. After all, fry are not born in their body, but are only until complete maturation. This is a function of protecting future offspring.

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11. Skates are fragile, but tenacious. One of the hundred born fry of sea horses survives to full-fledged adults. This is a very high rate for fish. Thanks to this indicator, seahorses have not died out so far.

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12. There is a horse on the coat of arms of the city of Zaozersk. For several years, a seahorse was depicted on the coat of arms of the Russian city of Zaozersk (Murmansk Region). The image was to symbolize the naval power of the Northern Fleet. But, since seahorses are not found in the waters of the Barents Sea, the image of the horse was replaced by the image of a dolphin. It should be noted that seahorses are residents of tropical and subtropical salt ponds. And the largest seas of Russia are not included in this list.

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13. 30 types of skates are listed in the Red Book. And science knows only 32 species of these fish. There are several reasons for the extinction of seahorses. But almost all of them are related to human activities. In Thailand, Australia, Malaysia, skates are caught in order to dry and use as souvenirs. In eastern medicine, they are used to prepare medicines for asthma and skin diseases. In addition, the habitats of seahorses are polluted or completely destroyed by humans. And plankton, which is useful for skates, is often eaten by jellyfish, which have beneficial effects on climate change.
14. Seahorses are a delicacy. A dish using the liver and eyes of seahorses is served in the most expensive restaurants in the world. These parts of the skates are considered very tasty and healthy. The cost of a delicacy is an average of $ 800 per serving. And in China, fried skates are served on sticks.

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15. Skates live on Earth for 40 million years. Despite the fact that petrified seahorses are rare, scientists have proven that these fish existed for several tens of millions of years. They appeared at a time when, as a result of tectonic shifts of the earth's crust in the oceans, shallows formed and algae began to spread.