21st century skills library 4 A Small Sea Legend chapter 1 They’ve been a part of stories and legends for hundreds of years Herds of them can be found in meadows of sea grass Their heads look a lot like those of horses But you can’t ride these animals With monkey-like tails lizard-like eyes and a kangaroo-type pouch sea horses are some of the ocean’s most unusual creatures Despite their strange appearance sea horses are actually fish They have gills to breathe underwater They have fins to push themselves up and down and forward and backward
exploring our oceans 5 Sea horses can blend into their surroundings There are somewhere between 34 and 50 species of sea horses No one knows the exact number because sea horses are difficult to identify They can change their colors and patterns to match their surroundings so members of the same species don’t always look alike Often one species of sea horse will be given several different names To accurately identify a sea horse scientists must count the number of bony rays in their fins and the bony rings that encircle their body and tail Scientists also compare the length of the sea horses snouts and head spines
Sea horses can be found in mild and tropical waters throughout the world They swim in every sea and ocean except for the coldest ones near the poles Some species live as far north as Canada the United Kingdom and northern Norway Others live as far south as southern New Zealand and Argentina Sea horses make their homes on the continental shelves near the coasts In some places on these shelves coral and sponges can attach to form reefs Algae sea grass and seaweed grow on the reefs Sea horses anchor themselves here sometimes to just a single blade of sea grass These amazing animals adapt their behavior to attach to man-made items too They’ve been found living around jetties and piers as well as ropes and old machinery If there is something to hold on to and food to eat sea horses will settle there Because they can’t swim against the ocean currents sea horses tend to stay near their homes Males might 6 21st century skills library
exploring our oceans 7 A sea horse uses its tail to hold on to plants that live in the water
