Seahorses and Seadragons
These small, armored, tube-snouted fishes live in coral reefs and other sheltered, shallow habitats around the world.
A fish like few others
Shedd is home to several species of seahorse, and a few of their cousin seadragons, each as unique as the last. The scientific name for the seahorse, Hippocampus, comes from the Greek words meaning "horse" and "monster," but these gentle animals are actually fishes!
They’re poor swimmers, so they latch onto seagrass and corals with their prehensile tails and wait for food to drift by them, sucking up their meal with their tube-like snout.
A few years ago, the Shedd Aquarium Animal Health team took a video with an endoscope of sea horse babies inside this male’s pouch as part of an exam. In the animal world, seahorse males are the ones who get pregnant.
Moving with mates
Seahorses are one of the few fishes that mate for life, performing a sort of dance every day to renew their bonds.
“You would never think of them as predators, but they are one of the most efficient in the sea. With their slow-moving, camouflaged bodies they lie in wait for the small crustaceans they hunt. ”
Mark Schick, Director of Exhibit Development
Barbour's Seahorse
Lined Seahorse
Potbelly Seahorse
Weedy Seadragon
Longsnout Seahorse
Shortsnout Seahorse
Northern Seahorse