Among a large number eat fish unique representatives this class. At first glance, it is not even clear that it is a fish in front of you, however, it is. In the class of ray-finned fish, there is a creature called the rag-picker seahorse, or simply the rag-picker.
It is worth saying that this wonderful and unusual creature is more like a lace napkin than a rag, and it was somehow too modest to come up with the name “rag-picker” for this creature! The ragpicker is a representative of the needle-shaped order, the needle-shaped family.
The entire surface of the body of the fish is covered with numerous outgrowths, with a soft structure. Outwardly, they look like ribbons developing in the wind. Therefore, among the algae, this animal is completely invisible. But its beauty can be admired endlessly, because the rag-picker seahorse is more like a decorative figurine than an ordinary fish. This is truly a beautiful underwater creature!
The body length of an adult fish, on average, reaches 35 centimeters. The color of the rag-picker is different: yellowish-green, yellow or orange-yellow. The mouth opening resembles a tube. Through it, food enters the body. The torso and head are connected to each other ... by the neck! Do you see this in other fish? On the head are two very expressive big eyes.
This animal is characterized by areas with moderate temperatures, so it can be found in the waters of the Indian Ocean: near the coast of the Australian continent (more precisely, its southern, southeastern and southwestern parts). In addition, the rag-picker seahorse lives in the eastern and northern part of the island of Tasmania (which is an island state of Australia).
The natural habitats of this fish are coral reefs and shallow water (up to 20 meters). The water temperature, as mentioned above, should be moderate.
Looking at this creature, it seems that it is harmless and very calm. But beauty is deceiving! The rag-picker seahorse is a real predator! And shrimp become its victims. Due to the lack of teeth, the rag-picker cannot divide the caught prey into parts, so he simply swallows it whole into his long tubular mouth. For a whole day, the animal is able to eat as many as 3,000 shrimp! How gluttonous he turns out to be, this rag-picker!
Research scientists have shown that under the conditions wildlife The rag-picker seahorse lives up to four to five years.
The main food for these representatives of the needle family is, of course, however, rag-pickers eat plankton and small underwater plants. When food enters the rag-picker's mouth, some kind of filtration occurs: water is poured back into the environment through the gills, and the food, already filtered, remains in the mouth.
mating season these fish fall in the first half of summer. When the female and male form a pair, they begin picturesque pair "dances". Both partners move smoothly and at the same time still change their color.
After that, the female lays eggs, there are often about 150 of them in a clutch. And she lays them ... no - no, not on algae leaves and not even on stones, but on ... the male's tail! Until the very birth of the fry, the male rag-picker carries the egg clutch on himself.
A month later (sometimes two months), fry appear that are capable of independent life immediately after hatching. In their appearance, they look like adults, but they are quite defenseless, and their parents have already left them and no longer protect them. Therefore, a very small percentage of fry survive to adulthood.
Seahorses-rag-pickers are caught mainly for placing them in aquariums. But too frequent capture of these fish led to the fact that their population began to decline sharply, so they are taken under protection, and their official capture is prohibited by law.
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The seahorse is a small-sized fish that is a member of the Needle family from the order Sticklebacks. Studies have shown that the seahorse is a highly modified needlefish. Today, the seahorse is a fairly rare creature. In this article you will find a description and photo of a seahorse, learn a lot of new and interesting things about this extraordinary creature.
The seahorse looks very unusual and the shape of the body resembles a chess piece of a horse. The seahorse fish has many long bony spines and various leathery outgrowths on its body. Thanks to this body structure, the seahorse looks invisible among the algae and remains inaccessible to predators. The seahorse looks amazing, it has small fins, its eyes rotate independently of each other, and its tail is twisted into a spiral. The seahorse looks diverse, because it can change the color of its scales.
The seahorse looks small, its size depends on the species and varies from 4 to 25 cm. In the water, the seahorse swims vertically, unlike other fish. This is due to the fact that the swim bladder of a seahorse consists of an abdominal and a head part. The head bladder is larger than the abdominal one, which allows the seahorse to maintain an upright position when swimming.
Now the seahorse is becoming less and less common and is on the verge of extinction due to the rapid decline in numbers. There are many reasons for the extinction of the seahorse. The main one is the destruction by man of both the fish itself and its habitats. Off the coast of Australia, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines, skates are massively caught. Exotic appearance and the bizarre shape of the body caused people to start making gift souvenirs from them. For beauty, they artificially bend their tail and give the body the shape of the letter "S", but in nature the skates do not look like that.
Another reason that contributes to the decline in the population of seahorses is that they are a delicacy. Gourmets highly appreciate the taste of these fish, especially the eyes and liver of seahorses. In a restaurant, the cost of one serving of such a dish costs $ 800.
In total, there are about 50 species of seahorses, 30 of which are already listed in the Red Book. Fortunately, seahorses are very prolific and can produce over a thousand fry at one time, which keeps the seahorses from disappearing. Seahorses are bred in captivity, but this fish is very whimsical to keep. One of the most extravagant seahorses is the rag-picker seahorse, which you can see in the photo below.
The seahorse lives in tropical and subtropical seas. Seahorse fish lives mainly at shallow depths or near the coast and leads a sedentary lifestyle. The seahorse lives in dense thickets of algae and other marine vegetation. It attaches with its flexible tail to plant stems or corals, remaining almost invisible due to its body covered with various outgrowths and spikes.
The seahorse fish changes body color to blend in completely with environment. Thus, the seahorse successfully disguises itself not only from predators, but also during food production. The seahorse is very bony, so few people want to eat it. The main hunter of the seahorse is a large land crab. The seahorse can travel long distances. To do this, he attaches his tail to the fins of various fish and keeps on them until the "free taxi" swims into the algae thickets.
Seahorses eat crustaceans and shrimps. Seahorses are very interesting eaters. The tubular stigma, like a pipette, draws prey into the mouth along with water. Seahorses eat quite a lot and hunt almost the whole day, taking short breaks for a couple of hours.
During the day, seahorses eat about 3 thousand planktonic crustaceans. But seahorses eat almost any food, as long as it does not exceed the size of the mouth. The seahorse fish is a hunter. With its flexible tail, the seahorse clings to algae and remains motionless until the prey is in the required proximity to the head. After that, the seahorse sucks in water along with food.
Seahorses breed quite in an unusual way because the male carries the fry. It is not uncommon for seahorses to have monogamous pairs. The mating season of seahorses is an amazing sight. The couple, who are about to enter into a marriage union, are fastened with their tails and dance in the water. In the dance, the skates are pressed against each other, after which the male opens a special pocket in the abdominal region, into which the female throws eggs. In the future, the male bears offspring for a month.
Seahorses breed quite often and bring large offspring. A seahorse gives birth to one thousand or more fry at a time. Fry are born an absolute copy of adults, only very tiny. The babies that are born are left to their own devices. In nature, a seahorse lives for about 4-5 years.
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The grassy sea dragon belongs to the needle family (Syngnathidae), which combines seahorses and sea needles. Everyone has known about seahorses for a long time and are already accustomed to their bizarre appearance, but here we have something really unusual!
Let's face it, seahorses don't look all that similar to the animals they're named after. Firstly, they have no hooves, and secondly, have you ever seen a horse with such a prehensile tail. The name "horse" these fish received mainly due to the shape of the head, well, or because they like to eat refined sugar. The last fact is at least unknown to me.
But the grassy sea dragon (Phyllopteryx taeniolatus), which will be discussed, fully justifies its name, except that it does not breathe fire.
Growing to a size of 45cm, these amazing imitators really do look like little dragons. Their dorsal fins look like wings. The image is complemented by armor on the body made of bone plates, a long tail and a head with a comb.
Such an unusual body structure is explained by the habitat. Grass sea dragon lives in temperate zone off the coast of South Australia among kelp and other marine plants. In these swaying forests they hide, hunting for mysid crayfish and other small marine crustaceans.
The rag-pickers lack a tail fin, so they are poor swimmers. These unusual creatures move thanks to the vigorous strokes of the dorsal and pectoral fins. Fish form pairs for procreation early summer while performing skillful mating dances. After that, the female lays up to 250 eggs, which stick to the tail of the male.
The role of the female in caring for offspring has been exhausted, and for the next couple of months, the male bears eggs on his tail until small copies of the parents hatch from it.
Unfortunately, there are many threats to this bizarre fish, mostly related to destruction. natural places a habitat. Industrial production of stone lobsters leads to an increase in the population sea urchins Centrostephanus rogersii, which are preyed upon by lobsters. Sea urchin eats kelp and leaves grass sea dragon in an open place, without food, defenseless against predators. Moreover. Increases the chance of being washed ashore during a storm.
Deterioration of habitat conditions due to human activities - dredging, land reclamation, wastewater discharge - further contributes to the extinction of the sea dragon. These and other factors have led Phyllopteryx taeniolatus to be listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and natural resources, in the Red Book as endangered.
Probably, each of you is familiar with the marine life, which is shaped like a small horse. This is a rag-picker - a seahorse, which is included in the order of ray-finned fish. This sea creature lives in the Indian Ocean, near the Australian continent. Settles in coral reefs, among dense seaweed, at a shallow depth, up to 20 meters. loves water average temperature. At present, the population of the rag-picker has greatly decreased, which has forced the Australian government to pass a number of laws to protect it.
The rag-picker is a miniature fish of a bizarre shape. In length, it reaches only 30 centimeters. Her body is covered with flexible growths that perform a camouflage function. In the water, they sway, by analogy with seaweed. Against their background, the skate is completely invisible. The fish has a yellow body color, but if necessary, it can change it, disguising itself as the color of corals.
We have already focused on unusual shape the body of the skate, which is covered with shaggy growths that look like algae. Most likely, for this reason he was called a rag-picker.
The body of the rag-picker contains practically no muscles. Nutrients there is very little in it. Most fish, except for the stingray, do not feed on them. But the bones of an adult skate are more than enough. The shape of the rag-picker is no different from other seahorses. A small head, with a muzzle stretched forward, a curved body. The eyes can move independently of each other.
The skate looks very impressive in the water. This is probably why these Marine life often become residents of home aquariums. The rag-picker swims very smoothly. Sometimes it can be mistaken for an algae, quietly floating with the flow. Moves with the help of pectoral and dorsal fins, which quickly shakes. The skate floats only in a vertical position. In one minute he can swim 150 meters. At the slightest danger, it hides in algae and freezes. In this state, he can remain for a very long time. In order not to be carried away by the current, an ordinary seahorse grabs the algae with its tail. The rag-picker does not have such an ability, and therefore often ends up on the shore, where sea wave. On land, he cannot live, and quickly dies there.
The rag-picker seahorse is a predator. It feeds on plankton, small crustaceans, and shrimp. Does not refuse seaweed. It has no teeth, so food is swallowed whole. To get to the plankton, the pipit sucks water through its mouth and passes it through the gills. All living beings that are at a distance of 4 centimeters from it are filtered out and enter the stomach.
The mating season is at the beginning of summer. The female lays about 100 eggs in the tail of the male, where they are fertilized and hatch. After four weeks, babies hatch from the eggs. Entering into marriage, the rag-pickers perform an original mating dance, during which the color of their bodies changes. Babies are born completely independent, and do not need parental care. Not everyone survives to adulthood. Some will die on the shore, some will be eaten by predators. As a rule, no more than 5% of all those born survive. A seahorse lives on average 5 years.
