Caballito De Mar

SEAHOR5ES
By Christopher Páparo
Photos by author, unless noted

While flounder-fishing from shore
under the Robert Moses Bridge
with my dad some 20 years ago, 1
hooked what I thought was a monster
flounder. Excitement quickly turned to

disappointment as my record flounder
turned out to be a big pile of "sea
salad." However, picking through
the pile, my curiosity got the better
ofme as I discovered that under the

numerous hooks and sinkers (testaments to the fact that other anglers
had also succumbed to this same
seaweed glob) this weed mass was
teeming with life. All thoughts of

New York State Conservationist, August 2011

flounder vanished as I watched small
lady and rock crabs scurry to take
cover. Newly settled mussels clung
to the weeds in hopes ofdrifting to a
new suitable home. Mixed in among
the mussels were dime-sized sea stars
having their first feast of mussels.
Añer thoroughly exploring the pile,
1 tossed it back into the bay and ran
off to re-bait my hooks. It was then
that I noticed what looked like a piece
of seaweed flopping around on the
beach. Bending down to take a better
look, 1 was totally surprised to see it
was aseahorse—I had never seen one
before and had no idea that they lived
in my backyard. I gently picked it up
and placed it in a bucket of water. I
was awestruck as I watched it swim
around. A short time later, 1 released it
at the water's edge and watched it swim
to another piece of seaweed where it
drifted off in the current. While I can't
recall if we caught any flounder that
day, I'llnever forget this first encounter
with a seahorse—it was the beginning
of what has become a lifelong

fascination with these unique, delicatelooking marine fish.
Seahorses are amazing creatures.
They have long snouts, armor-plated
skin, and a grasping tail that looks
more typical of a monkey than a fish.
Combine that with their characteristic
vertical posture, and it's hard to believe
thatseahorses are true fish (aquatic vertebrates having gills and fins).
Seahorses belong to the family
Syngnathidae, which include pipefishes and sea dragons. Of the approximately 32 known species of seahorses
found around the world, most prefer
shallow tropical and temperate waters.
Some seahorses, such as the dwarf
species, only reach less than one-half
inch in length, while the largestspecies, the pot-belly seahorse, can
grow to be 12.5 inches.
The lined seahorse (Hippocampus
erecttis), is the only species regularly found in New York's waters. It
inhabits eel grass beds, and can reach
eight inches long. Many people mistakenly believe that erectus is one of

the many tropical strays that only
visit us during the summer months.
However, the lined seahorse prefers
coolerwaters and is found in New
York's marine waters a majority of the
year. I have encountered them as early
as April and as late as December.
Because seahorses lack a caudal
(tail) fin, they can't swim very fast,
and so travel distances by attaching
themselves to plants and float with
the current. However, seahorses are
very maneuverable and can hover very
accurately. They use their dorsalfin to
propel themselves, and their pectoral
fins to hover and steer.
Seahorses are masters of disguise^
a characteristic that serves them well
when finding food. Like fluke, seahorses can change the texture and color
of their skin to match and blend in
with their surroundings. They will then
hold onto a piece of seaweed with their
prehensile (grasping) tail, and remain
still to ambushsmall prey as it swims
by. When unsuspecting small shrimp
or larval fish swim within range of

Seahorse Facts
• Their common name is derived from the
genus Hippocampus, which translates as
"horse sea monster."
- Seahorses range in size from less than
one-half inch lo 12.5 inches
in length.
• Tbe lined seahorse (H/ppocompus
erec/us) is tbe only species regularly found
in New York's...