Male seahorse and human pregnancies remarkably alike

Date: September 2, 2015

Source: University of Sydney

Summary: Their pregnancies are carried by the males but, when it comes to breeding, seahorses have more in common with humans than previously thought, new research reveals.

Their pregnancies are carried by the males but, when it comes to breeding, seahorses have more in common with humans than previously thought, new research from the University of Sydney reveals.

Seahorses are famed for being part of the only family in the animal kingdom (Syngnathidae) in which the male is responsible for pregnancy. What hasn't been known until now is the degree to which male seahorses nourish and protect their embryos in their brood pouch during the 24-day gestation period.

Findings co-authored by Dr Camilla Whittington from the University's School of Biological Sciences, published today inMolecular Biology and Evolution, show male seahorses play as much a part in nurturing embryos during pregnancy as female mammals. Previously their role, other than as pouch provider, was largely a mystery.

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Father gives birth to a hundred baby seahorses

By Sarah Knapton, Science Editor

3:30PM GMT 12 Dec 2014

A male seahorse has given birth to a hundred tiny babies at a sea life centre in Britain.

The tiny sea creatures are part of a conservation programme to rescue, breed and protect the animals.

The male 'big bellied' seahorse incubated the females eggs for 25 days before giving birth to the brood. They can carry up to a thousand eggs at one time, and are one of the only examples in the animal kingdom of males giving birth.

Rob Gaster, the aquarist who bred the seahorses at The National Sea Life Centre Birmingham, said: “It’s always exciting when we have a new birth at the attraction, let alone a hundred.

“We’re very happy to report that our baby seahorses are thriving and being cared for in our specialist nursery tank so we can keep a close eye on them.

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Whoa! Seahorses Don't Neigh — They Growl

By Stephanie Pappas, Live Science Contributor | July 09, 2014 01:19pm ET

Dogs and bears aren't the onlyanimals that give off warning growls. Seahorses do too.

For the first time, researchers have recorded seahorses growling, a tiny, deep sound not easily detectable by the human ear. These distinctive little fishes growl in response to stress, specifically the stress of being captured and handled, according to a new study published onlineJune 26 in the Journal of Zoology.

Researchers and aquarium enthusiasts have long known that seahorses often vibrate angrily when handled, said study researcher Tacyana Oliveira, a scientist at Universidade Estadual da Paraíba, in Brazil. [Listen to the Seahorse Growls and Grunts]

read on

Seahorses stalk their prey by stealth

By James Morgan, Science reporter, BBC News

Seahorses may appear slow and awkward but they are ferocious and ingenious predators, according to a new study.

The beautiful creatures are famously bad swimmers, but they have a secret weapon to sneak up on their prey.

Their peculiar snouts are shaped to create very few ripples in the water, effectively cloaking them as they creep up and pounce on tiny crustaceans.

To their victims, seahorses are more like sea monsters, say scientists from the University of Texas at Austin.

Continued and video

Surprising Fish Cousins: Tuna & Seahorses

Spiny-rayed fish rule the underwater world.

In the past 100 million years, fish with spiky dorsal and anal fins — an effective anti-predator device — have occupied every nook and cranny of the planet, said Peter Wainwright, an evolutionary biologist at the University of California, Davis. The group includes more than 90 percent of coral reef fish species and almost everything humans commercially fish, including bass, pollock and tilapia.

Now, Wainwright and a team of researchers have pieced together a new family tree for this gigantic brood, with more than 18,000 species living today. Using both genetic tools and fossils, the "phylogeny" reveals unexpected links between some spiny-rayed fish, such as tuna and seahorses. The findings were published July 15 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

- See more at: 

http://www.livescience.com/38285-surprising-fish-cousins-tuna-seahorses.html#sthash.LgxHVi4S.dpuf

Ebay bans international sea horse trade in EU & USA

Seahorse Trust lobbying pays off but still work to be done

November 2012. After an approach from The Seahorse Trust following requests from Trust members, E-bay has brought their European and US sites in line with international trade regulations and banned the sale of real seahorses. The Trust estimates that up to 500,000 seahorses were sold on E-bay throughout the EU and the USA each year; these ranged from live seahorses to dead, real seahorses in paper weights.

It is now against their regulations to sell live or dead seahorses, in any form, so this will stop sales to the aquarium, curio and medicine trades.

It will take a while to get all products of real seahorses off E-bay but Trust members can help by reporting any items they see using the report button on the site, then press the banned wildlife button.

US domestic trade continues
There is a difference between the EU and the USA wildlife regulations, where sadly, they can still trade domestically but not outside of the USA.

This is a major step forward by E-bay and we would like to thank them for their prompt action after being alerted by the trust and its members. The next step is to get the USA in line with the EU and the trust with its partners will continue to lobby for this.

More about The Seahorse Trust 

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/seahorse-ebay.html

Rare seahorse found in River Thames

Evidence of a colony of rare seahorses has been discovered in the Thames, the Environment Agency said.

The short-snouted seahorse (Hippocampus hippocampus), which grows up to 15cm (6 inches) is more commonly found in the waters of the Mediterranean and Canary Islands.

It has often been a visitor to coastal waters around Britain but the agency said it had never been found so far upriver.

The sightings during a routine fisheries survey at Greenwich suggest there may be permanent populations in the UK and that the seahorses, which mate for life after elaborate courtship rituals, may be breeding in the Thames.

Emma Barton, Environment Agency fisheries officer, said: "The seahorse we found was only 5cm (2 inches) long, a juvenile, suggesting that they may be breeding nearby.

"This is a really good sign that seahorse populations are not only increasing but spreading to locations where they haven't been seen before. We routinely survey the Thames at this time of year and this is a really exciting discovery."

The last sighting of seahorses in the Thames was much further down the river in Dagenham in 2008. They have not seen since.

The Thames has been reformed from a "biologically dead" river in the 1950s, as a result of sewage and industrial pollution, to a much cleaner waterway today.

Ms Barton added: "We hope that further improvements to water quality and habitat in the Thames will encourage more of these rare species to take up residence in the river."

http://news.uk.msn.com/environment/rare-seahorse-found-in-river-thames