海马Seahorses 　　SeahorsesareaspeciesoffishbelongingtothefishfamilySyngnathidae,whichalsoincludespipefish.ThepipefishandseahorsearefoundintropicalwatersallovertheCaribean. 　　Seahorsesrangeinsizefrom16mm(therecentlydiscoveredHippocampusdenise[2])to35cm.Seahorsesandpipefishesarenotableforbeingtheonlyspeciesinwhichmalesbecome"pregnant".[3] 　　Ithasadorsalfinlocatedonthelowerbodyandpectoralfinslocatedontheheadneartheirgills.Somespeciesofseahorsearepartlytransparentandarerarelyseeninpictures. 　　Seadragonsarecloserelativesofseahorsesbuthavebiggerbodiesandleaf-likeappendageswhichenablethemtohideamongfloatingseaweedorkelpbeds.Seahorsesandseadragonsfeedonlarvalfishesandamphipods,suchassmallshrimp-likecrustaceanscalledmysids("sealice"),suckinguptheirpreywiththeirsmallmouths.Manyoftheseamphipodsfeedonredalgaethatthrivesintheshadeofthekelpforestswheretheseadragonslive. 　　Seahorsesreproduceinanunusualway:themalebecomespregnant.AsstatedonTheSeahorseProject,"Thefemaleinsertsherovipositorintothemale’sbroodpouch,whereshedepositshereggs,whichthemalefertilizes.Thefertilizedeggsthenembedinthepouchwallandbecomeenvelopedwithtissues."Newresearchindicatesthemalereleasesspermintothesurroundingseawaterduringfertilization,andnotdirectlyintothepouchaswaspreviouslythought.[4]Mostseahorsespecies'pregnancieslastsapproximatelytwotothreeweeks. 　　Hatchedoffspringareindependentoftheirparents.Somespendtimedevelopingamongtheoceanplankton.Attimes,themaleseahorsemaytrytoconsumesomeofthepreviouslyreleasedoffspring.Otherspecies(H.zosterae)immediatelybeginlifeassea-floorinhabitants(benthos). 　　Seahorsesaregenerallymonogamous,thoughseveralspecies(H.abdominalisamongthem)arehighlygregarious.Inmonogamouspairs,themaleandfemalewillgreetoneanotherwithcourtshipdisplaysinthemorningandsometimesintheeveningtoreinforcetheirpairbond.Theyspendtherestofthedayseparatefromeachotherhuntingforfood.