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Seahorses are unique species

Seahorses are fish, complete with gills, fins, and a swim-bladder. But they have a head like a horse (hence their name), a tail like a monkey, a pouch like a kangaroo, and independently moving eyes and camouflage abilities like a chameleon.

There are at least 35 different species

with two medium-sized species found in Europe (from the UK to North Africa and all through the Mediterranean). Their nearest relatives are pipefish, including at least five species that live in Swedish waters. Indeed, Sweden leads the world in pipefish research.

The origin of the word hippocampus is Greek.

Seahorses belong to the family Syngnathidae, which also includes pipefishes, pipehorses and sea dragons. All seahorses belong to one genus, Hippocampus, from the Greek words hippos, meaning horse and campus, meaning sea-monster.

Only the male seahorse gets pregnant.

The female places eggs in his brood pouch, after which he fertilises, protects, aerates and nourishes them for ten days to six weeks, depending on the water temperature and species. He then pumps and thrusts the young out in a form of labour.

Seahorses are faithful mates.

In many species, one male and one female come together every morning in a form of daily greeting. Their dances reinforce their pair bonds and ensure that both are ready for the next brood at the same time.

Seahorses are masters of camouflage.

Seahorses can change colour to blend with their surroundings in a matter of minutes. Some seahorses have long filaments trailing from their head and back.

Seahorses can eat a lot without teeth or a stomach.

Seahorses use their long snout to suck up passing plankton. Without a stomach, these fish have to eat continually. A two-week-old seahorse is capable of consuming at least 3,600 baby brine shrimp in just ten hours.

Seahorses communicate through changes in colour and clicking sounds.

The small clicking sounds are made by moving two parts of their skull against each other.

Seahorses are threatened.

Seahorses worldwide are threatened by over-fishing, accidental capture in shrimp nets and destruction of their habitats (seagrasses, mangroves, estuaries, and coral reefs).

A huge number of seahorses are traded every year.

Every year at least 25 million live and dead seahorses are legally traded worldwide. Most are used in traditional Chinese medicine, the aquarium trade, and as souvenirs and curiosities. As a result of this demand, some seahorse populations were estimated to have shrunk between 25 and 50 percent over a five-year timeframe in the 1990s.