The nature of things

Seahorses

IF proof is sought to confirm life being stranger than fiction, there’s no need to look further than the seahorse. Everything about this creature turns our expectations inside out. Literally, in the case of its skeleton, which, unlike most fish, is worn on the outside, the bony plates wrapped with a veil of skin, but no scales. Its disarmingly equine head is recorded in the genus name of Hippocampus, yet those prominent eyes operate independently of each other, enabling the animal to see both forwards and backwards at the same time. The long, thin snout probes nooks and crannies, hoovering up prey, which is not chewed, but disintegrated directly as it’s eaten.

Some 54 species of Hippocampus exist in the world’s oceans, varying in length from half an inch or so to some 14in. There are just two British species: the spiny or long-snouted H. guttulatus (centre and far right) and the short-snouted H. hippocampus (top left and bottom left), living chiefly along our south and west coasts in shallow, inshore waters, anchoring themselves to seaweeds and sea grasses via the remarkable, monkey-like prehensile tail.

Seahorses pair up for life and are unique in having true reverse pregnancy: the female drops eggs into the male, which fertilises them internally, developing a ‘pregnant tummy’. At full term, he expels hundreds of miniature seahorses to take their risky chance in the world. KBH