Lined Seahorse (Hippocampus erectus) at the Newport Aquarium of Greater Cincinnati.

Notice the rapidly fluttering dorsal fin and the tiny pectoral fins, which are located above the eyes; seahorses have no caudal fin. Seahorses suck up food through their long snouts, and similarly to chameleons, their eyes can move independently of each other.

Habitat: Atlantic coastal waters from Nova Scotia to Uruguay. Diet: Small shrimp, other small crustacean, plankton, and tiny fish. The female seahorse deposits eggs in the male “brood pouch.” The male carries the eggs until the fry emerge. He expels fully developed miniature seahorses into the water.

“Hippocampus” comes from the Ancient Greek hippos meaning “horse” and kampos meaning “sea monster”.