How Does A Seahorse Swim?

The Seahorse is a very special fish because its head is attached to its body similar to the way a mammal’s is.

This, plus the shape of its head, makes it look like a horse. Adult Seahorses frequently use this to advantage, using their “chins” to pull themselves forward through weeds. These delightfully unusual creatures also perform a “dance”, in which several of them twine their tails together and wave through the water.

Unfortunately, when the young try to perform in this fashion, many of them become unable to free themselves from their partners and eventually die of starvation. Camouflage is a specialty of the Seahorse, which is one of the creatures of the sea that can change color according to its background.

There is even one variety, the Australian leafy Seahorse, in which fleshy leaf-like growths on the body make the little fish appear to be a clump of seaweed.

Seahorses have evolved to swim with an upright posture. Scientists discovered that this enables seahorses to blend in seamlessly with surrounding seagrass, better than horizontally swimming fish.

In their native environment, this means they would less likely be picked off by predators.

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