The Importance of Seahorses

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Introduction

In an article entitled, Seahorse Power, journalist Andrew Seale states that seahorses have always peaked human curiosity for centuries. The first appearance of the seahorse goes back to Ancient Greece where they appeared on scrolls and in seaside tales from the Victorian age. The hippocampus in the human brain is like that of a seahorse. (Seale, 2012). The common seahorse (Hippocampus kuda) goes by names as estuary; yellow and spotted seahorse.

Seahorses possess horse-like heads, armor-plated bodies, curved trunks, and prehensile tails. It is estimated to be about 35 to 40 seahorse species. Seahorses can be found at local aquariums, pet store, or even a gift shop where they are dead and dried to be sold as souvenirs. The common seahorse is a member of the Syngnathidae family, which also includes pipefish and sea dragons (Tacio, 2010). Helen Scales states that seahorses have “a suite of unusual biological features that include male pregnancy and apparently widespread monogamy (Scales, 2010)."

Conservation Status

The common seahorse is listed as "Vulnerable" on The International Union Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List list.

Range

One can find the common seahorse throughout South East Asia, Australia, Japan and even Hawaii. According to National Geographic, H. kuda inhabits shallow tropical and temperate waters all around the globe (National Geographic, n.d.). They are also found in inshore shallow areas.

Habitat

Common seahorses are typically found in shallow inshore areas with an average depth of zero to eight meters, but seahorses have been found at lower depths of fifty-five meters. They inhabit Mangroves, coastal seagrass beds, estuaries, coastal bays and lagoons, harbors...

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Rosa, I. L., Oliveira, T. P., Osorio, F. M., Moraes, L. E., Castro, A. L., Barros, G. M., & Avles , R. R. (2011). Fisheries and trade of seahorses in Brazil: historical perspective, current trends, and future directions. Biodiversity & Conservation, 20(9), 1951-1971. doi:10.1007/s10531-011-0068-2

Seale, A. (2012). Seahorse Power. Alternatives Journal, 38(5), 36-39.

Scales, H. (2010). Advances in the ecology, biogeography and conservation of seahorses (genus Hippocampus). Progress In Physical Geography, 34(4), 443-458. doi:10.1177/0309133310364928

The Seahorse Trust (2010). Seahorse Facts. Retrieved May 5, 2014, from http://www.theseahorsetrust.org/seahorse-facts.aspx

- Tacio, H. (2010, May 30). Economic and health benefits of seahorse. Sun Star [Davao], p. 1. Retrieved from http://www.sunstar.com.ph/davao/economic-and-health-benefits-seahorse

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