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Seahorse Articles

Unique, beguiling seahorse faces dwindling numbers
Beautiful creature mates exclusively with same partner for entire life span

By BOBBIE CLINE,
SPECIAL TO THE NEWS-PRESS
Published by news-press.com on June 25, 2005

It may have the head of a horse, a tail like a monkey and a pouch like a kangaroo, but the seahorse (hippocampus) is actually a fish - a fascinating fish.

This genus of fish is found in temperate and tropical coastal waters worldwide. They inhabit warm, shallow areas among seagrass beds, mangroves, corals and estuaries in and around Lovers Key State Park.

There are 35 known species of seahorses, which range in length from less than an inch to 5 inches. One of the most unusual in appearance of all fishes, the seahorse is a beautiful creature with some remarkable adaptations. Read more

Seahorse Fathers Take Reins in ChildbirthStentor Danielson

National Geographic News
June 14, 2002

It's true that male seahorses never play catch with their children or help them with their homework. But they do outdo human dads on one count: Male seahorses undergo pregnancy and give birth to their sons and daughters. Read more

Tiny Seahorse Identified

The smallest seahorse known to science has been identified by marine biologists. The creature, to be known as Hippocampus denise, is typically just 16 millimetres long - smaller than most fingernails. Some were found to be just 13 mm long. Read more

Seahorse exhibit rides off into sunset

The sea dragon, closely related to seahorses, is part of the Shedd Aquarium's "Seahorse Symphony" exhibit. Read more

The Knysna seahorse - a curious, legendary
African fish - Jackie Lockyear

Seahorses are thought to have evolved at least 40 million years ago and have survived from ancient times with only very small changes in body structure or organ function. They are unusual fish that have captured the imagination of artists, writers and poets, being found in the mythology, legends, folklore and superstitions of almost every country in the world. In fact some people still believe that these endearing creatures exist only in fables and children's stories. The fact is however, that these creatures are just as real as the threats that they face in our world today.

Given their unusual appearance and extraordinary biology, it is not surprising that Asians have credited seahorses with magical powers. Seahorse are therefore exploited as traditional medicines. This use has led to concerns that the natural seahorse stocks are being depleted at a rapid and unsustainable rate. Read more

Seahorses get zoo's backing

At least 20 million seahorses are taken from the sea each year

A zoo in north Wales is helping a world-wide project to protect endangered seahorses.
Throughout the year Anglesey Sea Zoo is raising funds for Project Seahorse.
It is also selling a range of crafts made especially for the zoo by fishermen in the Philippines who would otherwise be making a living catching the creatures. Read More

Galloping seahorses
by Glenn Moore, Dept of Zoology, University of WA

Seahorses and tiny mermaids living amidst gardens of flowing seaweeds and pretty seashells are common in children's fantasies. But unlike mermaids, seahorses are real and exist today. What's more, these bizarre little creatures are actually fishes. Read More

Thursday, May 13, 2004 at 14:00 JST
	A spiny seahorse drifts at New Enoshima Aquarium in Fujisawa, southwest of Tokyo. The 49-year-old aquarium, showing the ecology of Sagami Bay and the Pacific Ocean, has just been renovated.

Seahorses Gain International Protection on May 15

Contact: Jan Vertefeuille of the World Wildlife Fund, 202-861-8362; http://www.worldwildlife.org

WASHINGTON, May 14 /U.S. Newswire/ -- A monogamous lifestyle and male pregnancy aren't the only things that distinguish seahorses from other marine life. Starting tomorrow, international trade rules kick in to protect seahorses.

A number of the world's species of seahorses are threatened because of overfishing and unsustainable trade, which has led to all 33 species being added to the wildlife covered by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

At least 77 countries are involved in the seahorse trade, so regulations on the international level are needed to ensure their protection. An estimated 24 million seahorses are taken from the wild every year, dried and sold for use in traditional Chinese medicine, to treat everything from asthma to sexual dysfunction. Hundreds of thousands more are sold live for the aquarium trade.

The CITES listing means that more than 160 countries must now ensure that commercial trade of seahorses is not detrimental to wild populations.

"TRAFFIC has produced an ID manual to help ensure the seahorse regulations are successful in conserving these remarkable species," said Ernie Cooper of TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network of World Wildlife Fund and IUCN-The World Conservation Union. "It will be distributed to Customs agents and law enforcement officials in 165 countries to help them enforce the new rules through proper identification of the different species."

The biology of seahorses may make them particularly vulnerable to overfishing. Because most species of seahorses are monogamous, for example, widowed animals don't reproduce until they find a new partner, and lost partners are not quickly replaced. Male pregnancy means that young depend on parental survival for far longer than in most fish. And small home ranges in many species may restrict recolonization of depleted areas.

Seahorses are traded internationally for use in aquariums, as curios and souvenirs, and in traditional Asian medicine. Trade in recent years appears to be increasing, with demand particularly high in China for use in traditional medicine. Survival rates for seahorses in captivity are low, meaning almost all seahorses in aquariums are wild-caught.

The CITES regulations for seahorses were approved in November 2002 but delayed for 18 months - until May 2004 - to allow countries time to put in place policies to enforce them.

For more information about seahorses, go to http://www.worldwildlife.org. The seahorse ID manual was made possible thanks to generous funding support from the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Grant Program and the Curtis and Edith Munson Foundation.

Editors: A high-resolution photograph supporting this news release is available at http://www.wirepix.com/newsphotos/

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