- The Seahorse was known to the Romans and Greeks as the Hippocampus.
- The word comes from the Greek ‘Hippo’ meaning ‘horse’ and ‘kampos’ meaning ‘seamonster’.
Description
- The Seahorse is a tiny fish that has a long snout giving it a horse-like head and unlike other fish it has a snake-like tail with no fin, an exoskeleton and it can move its eyes independently, like those of a chameleon.
- The female seahorse places its eggs in the pouch of the male, who then fertilises them and develops the babies until they are ready to leave his pouch.
- They are to be found in Tropical and Temperate seas, such as the coral reefs of the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, and they are also found in the Mediterranean.
Pliny the Elder
- Pliny the Elder described the Seahorse as the ‘Hippocampus’ in his Natural History.
Red Sea