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INTERESTING FEATURES
OF SEA HORSES
You may have seen sea horses on television or in books. Their unusual
horse-like appearance and their wavering pattern of swimming might have
attracted your attention. Did you know that, contrary to what one might
suppose, these animals are very small? Sea horses, which are 4 to 30 cen-
timeters (1,5 to 12 inches) in size, generally live
among seaweed and other plants close to the
shore. The bony armor of the sea horse protects
it against dangers. This armor is so tough that
it is virtually impossible to crush a dried sea
horse using your hands.
The sea horse’s head is at a right angle to its
body, something which is not seen in any other
fish. Consequently, sea horses swim with their
bodies upright and can move their heads up and
down. However, they cannot turn their heads to
the side. Now let’s think about the problems
that other living creatures would suffer if they
could not turn their heads to the right or to the
left; they would be susceptible to all sorts of
physical dangers. However, as a result of their
W O N D E R F U L C R E A T U R E S
A male sea horse and its young
