Seahorse - Marine life in El Nido
Discover Scuba Diving in El Nido is easy, fun and above all safe! It’s a great way for beginners to discover El Nido’s underwater wonders before deciding to sign up for the PADI Open Water Course.
Marine life in El Nido - Seahorses - Where do we find them?
‘ve always wanted to see a seahorse, you should take your chance at some spots in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian ocean and even sometimes in the Mediterranean Sea. Seahorses prefer shallow and relatively warm waters. They hide in sheltered areas such as coral reefs, seaweeds, mangroves and any kind of holes they feel comfortable in. If you decide to come to Bacuit Bay, the night dives are the best way to spot sea horses. Nat Nat is the best dive site to see them here.
Genus: Hippocampus
Depth: 1 to 30m
Diet: carnivore
Size: 15mm (pygmy) to 360mm
Name: “Hippos” means “horse” and “Kampos” means “sea monster” in Ancient Greek
Marine life in El Nido - Seahorses - An Extraordinary Animal!
Seahorse are made of ring bones. Ring bones are bony plates arranged in rings throughout their bodies. These, and the shape of their head – looking like a horses head – gives them their unique appearance. You can distinguish the 54 different species by the number of their ring bones, their shape and color. While some of the seahorses are very colorful, others try to camouflage and blend in with the reef. It also is special because of its flexible neck – which is quite unique for a fish – and its way to move in the water: Seahorses only swim upright, not horizontally like its close relative the pipefish! Their nutrition consists of shrimps, crustaceans, invertebrates and larva.
By the way seahorses are not only special in their appearance. They also are very romantic because the male and the female are being mates for live! In this connection the male is the one keeping the eggs (for about 9 to 45 days) given by the female. Unfortunately only 0,5% of the 1500 eggs will survive until adulthood.
Seahorses - They are threatened!
Nowadays it’s pretty hard to get to face a seahorse because they are threatened with extinction due to use in Chinese medicine, as souvenirs and in some areas also as food. Some people also keep them in their fish tank and they die before being able to breed. Furthermore some environments they’re living in, such as coral reefs and seaweed, are deteriorating. Source: www.endangeredspeciesinternational.org
