Seahorse rag-picker is a type of protective device. Ragged seahorse: Australia's unique fish. Rag Man Habitat: Indian Ocean

body length rag-picker can reach 35 cm.

Habitat rag-pickers: Indian Ocean.

Appearance
seahorse rag-picker- Very unusual fish, whose entire body is covered with processes. These processes look like algae and serve as an excellent means of camouflage. The considered representatives of the needle move very slowly with the help of almost transparent fins, so it seems that they seem to be floating in the water column. This ability allows them to remain invisible in the thickets of algae.
Habitat and food
inhabit rag-pickers mainly on coral reefs and shallow waters, in dense thickets of algae in the coastal waters of Tasmania and Australia. An interesting fact is that these fish spend their whole lives in the place of their birth. They feed mainly on algae, small crustaceans and plankton, while they themselves practically do not contain nutrients, and are of no interest for more big fish, the only exceptions are stingrays. These are currently interesting creatures are under the protection of the Australian government, because. due to industrial pollution natural environment habitation, their population is rapidly declining. It should be noted that the Australians have always been in awe of these creatures, so rag-picker seahorse is the emblem of one of the states of Australia and even adorns one of the coins.
Reproduction and lifespan
Female rag-picker lays about 120 eggs, which, after fertilization, are attached to the tail of the male. Every morning, throughout the entire period from laying eggs to the appearance of babies, lovers arrange in front of each other mating dances, while the color of their bodies becomes brighter and more saturated. After birth, babies immediately become independent, which is why their survival rate is no more than 5 percent. The life expectancy of these fish is on average about 5 years.

The seahorse is a small-sized fish that is a member of the Needle family from the order Sticklebacks. Studies have shown that the seahorse is a highly modified needlefish. Today, the seahorse is a fairly rare creature. In this article you will find a description and photo of a seahorse, learn a lot of new and interesting things about this extraordinary creature.

The seahorse looks very unusual and the shape of the body resembles a chess piece of a horse. The seahorse fish has many long bony spines and various leathery outgrowths on its body. Thanks to this body structure, the seahorse looks invisible among the algae and remains inaccessible to predators. The seahorse looks amazing, it has small fins, its eyes rotate independently of each other, and its tail is twisted into a spiral. The seahorse looks diverse, because it can change the color of its scales.

The seahorse looks small, its size depends on the species and varies from 4 to 25 cm. In the water, the seahorse swims vertically, unlike other fish. This is due to the fact that the swim bladder of a seahorse consists of an abdominal and a head part. The head bladder is larger than the abdominal one, which allows the seahorse to maintain an upright position when swimming.

Now the seahorse is becoming less and less common and is on the verge of extinction due to the rapid decline in numbers. There are many reasons for the extinction of the seahorse. The main one is the destruction by man of both the fish itself and its habitats. Off the coast of Australia, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines, skates are massively caught. The exotic appearance and bizarre body shape caused people to start making gift souvenirs from them. For beauty, they artificially bend their tail and give the body the shape of the letter "S", but in nature the skates do not look like that.

Another reason that contributes to the reduction of the population seahorses is that they are a delicacy. Gourmets highly appreciate the taste of these fish, especially the eyes and liver of seahorses. In a restaurant, the cost of one serving of such a dish costs $ 800.

In total, there are about 50 species of seahorses, 30 of which are already listed in the Red Book. Fortunately, seahorses are very prolific and can produce over a thousand fry at one time, which keeps the seahorses from disappearing. Seahorses are bred in captivity, but this fish is very whimsical to keep. One of the most extravagant seahorses is the rag-picker seahorse, which you can see in the photo below.

The seahorse lives in tropical and subtropical seas. Seahorse fish lives mainly at shallow depths or near the coast and leads a sedentary lifestyle. The seahorse lives in dense thickets of algae and other marine vegetation. It attaches with its flexible tail to plant stems or corals, remaining almost invisible due to its body covered with various outgrowths and spikes.

The seahorse fish changes body color to blend in completely with its surroundings. Thus, the seahorse successfully disguises itself not only from predators, but also during food production. The seahorse is very bony, so few people want to eat it. The main hunter of the seahorse is a large land crab. The seahorse can travel long distances. To do this, he attaches his tail to the fins. various fish and rests on them until the "free taxi" swims into the algae thickets.

What do seahorses eat?

Seahorses eat crustaceans and shrimps. Seahorses are very interesting eaters. The tubular stigma, like a pipette, draws prey into the mouth along with water. Seahorses eat quite a lot and hunt almost the whole day, taking short breaks for a couple of hours.

During the day, seahorses eat about 3 thousand planktonic crustaceans. But seahorses eat almost any food, as long as it does not exceed the size of the mouth. The seahorse fish is a hunter. With its flexible tail, the seahorse clings to algae and remains motionless until the prey is in the required proximity to the head. After that, the seahorse sucks in water along with food.

How do seahorses reproduce?

Seahorses breed quite in an unusual way because the male carries the fry. It is not uncommon for seahorses to have monogamous pairs. mating season Seahorses are an amazing sight. A couple about to enter into marriage, fastened with tails and dances in the water. In the dance, the skates are pressed against each other, after which the male opens a special pocket in the abdominal region, into which the female throws eggs. In the future, the male bears offspring for a month.

Seahorses breed quite often and bring large offspring. A seahorse gives birth to one thousand or more fry at a time. Fry are born an absolute copy of adults, only very tiny. The babies that are born are left to their own devices. In nature, a seahorse lives for about 4-5 years.

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Herbal sea ​​Dragon belongs to the needle family (Syngnathidae), which combines seahorses and sea ​​needles. Everyone has known about seahorses for a long time and are already accustomed to their bizarre appearance, but here we have something really unusual!

Let's face it, seahorses don't look all that similar to the animals they're named after. Firstly, they have no hooves, and secondly, have you ever seen a horse with such a prehensile tail. The name "horse" these fish received mainly due to the shape of the head, well, or because they like to eat refined sugar. Last fact at least unknown to me.

But the grassy sea dragon (Phyllopteryx taeniolatus), which will be discussed, fully justifies its name, except that it does not breathe fire.

Growing to a size of 45cm, these amazing imitators really do look like little dragons. Their dorsal fins look like wings. The image is complemented by armor on the body made of bone plates, a long tail and a head with a comb.

Such an unusual body structure is explained by the habitat. Grass sea dragon lives in temperate zone off the coast of South Australia among kelp and other marine plants. In these swaying forests they hide, hunting for mysid crayfish and other small marine crustaceans.

The rag-pickers lack a tail fin, so they are poor swimmers. These unusual creatures thanks to the vigorous strokes of the dorsal and pectoral fins. The fish form pairs for procreation in early summer, performing skillful mating dances. After that, the female lays up to 250 eggs, which stick to the tail of the male.

The role of the female in caring for offspring has been exhausted, and for the next couple of months, the male bears eggs on his tail until small copies of the parents hatch from it.

Unfortunately, there are many threats to this bizarre fish, including more associated with the destruction of natural habitats. Industrial production of stone lobsters leads to an increase in the population sea ​​urchins Centrostephanus rogersii, which are preyed upon by lobsters. A sea urchin eats kelp and leaves a grassy sea dragon on open space, without food, defenseless against predators. Besides. Increases the chance of being washed ashore during a storm.

Deterioration of habitat conditions due to human activities - dredging, land reclamation, wastewater discharge - further contributes to the extinction of the sea dragon. These and other factors have led Phyllopteryx taeniolatus to be introduced International Union nature conservation and natural resources, in the Red Book as endangered.

To the question What does a RAG-PICKER look like? given by the author IOSHAN the best answer is Ribbon-like leathery outgrowths on its body resemble either leaves or feathers and help it to remain unnoticed by predators in thickets of algae. His Latin name Phyllopteryx is composed of two words: phyllon - leaf and pteryx - feather, wing. Literally, leaflet.
He earned his name with an unusual appearance: outgrowths in the form of ribbons, patches and some incomprehensible “scraps” depart from the body, head, fins, and all this trembles and sways to the beat of the waves. The color of the seahorse, of course, is indistinguishable from the color of Sargasso algae.
a horse - a rag-picker - and without hide and seek in algae will be saved. It looks like it's all torn, tattered. If he swims, it is not difficult to mistake him for a rag or a piece of seaweed. Rag-pickers are most diverse off the coast of Australia.
Skates do not swim like a fish, but glide gracefully, keeping their head and upper body vertical. How does a horse move itself? Turns out, dorsal fin, which quickly sways from side to side, like a fan. Skates swim slowly, therefore they do not run away from enemies, but hide, disguising themselves among algae and changing their color depending on the natural background. And the rag-picker was originally made up of numerous long spikes and ribbon-like outgrowths and outwardly looks like a twig of Sargassum algae, in the thickets of which he lives.
When it's mating time for seahorses, they sing. The sounds of mating duets are reminiscent of snapping fingers. So the male invites the female to lay eggs in his brood pouch, which is located on his belly and opens outward with a small hole. After the eggs are laid, all worries about bearing offspring fall entirely on the shoulders of the male skate. The number of embryos hatched by one pipit is small - from 20 to 200, however, the offspring born in the pouch to the stage of a viable larva have many chances to survive.
Like the seahorse, the leaf dragon gets its name from its resemblance to another (albeit fabulous) creature. Its dimensions, of course, do not reach the real dragon, but compared to seahorse, This real giant, it grows up to 45 cm. Plankton, algae, and floating debris serve as food for the leafy dragon.
Unlike seahorses, male sea dragons do not have a brood pouch. Like their close relatives, female dragons lay up to 120 ruby-red eggs, which are then fertilized and attached in a special place under the tail of the male. During pregnancy, couples approach each other every morning and arrange a kind of love dance with a change in skin color towards more bright colors. 4-8 weeks pass, and the birth of small dragons (exact copies of adults) occurs.
Leaf dragons are in danger of extinction due to industrial emissions, as well as becoming part of the collections of divers fascinated by their appearance. In connection with this danger, the species is taken under the protection of the Australian government.
The less famous grass sea dragon (Phyllopteryx taeniolatus) is similar to its leafy counterpart, but its yellow and red outgrowths are unsightly and weed-like, hence the name. They are mainly found in Australian waters off the coast of New South Wales and Victoria.

Among the large number of fish there are unique representatives this class. At first glance, it is not even clear that it is a fish in front of you, however, it is. In the class of ray-finned fish, there is a creature called the rag-picker seahorse, or simply the rag-picker.

It is worth saying that this wonderful and unusual creature looks more like a lacy napkin than a rag, and it was somehow too modest to come up with the name “rag-picker” for this creature! The ragpicker is a representative of the needle-shaped order, the needle-shaped family.

What is so unusual in the appearance of a rag-picker seahorse?

The entire surface of the body of the fish is covered with numerous outgrowths, with a soft structure. Outwardly, they look like ribbons developing in the wind. Therefore, among the algae, this animal is completely invisible. But its beauty can be admired endlessly, because the rag-picker seahorse is more like a decorative figurine than an ordinary fish. This is truly a beautiful underwater creature!

The body length of an adult fish, on average, reaches 35 centimeters. The color of the rag-picker is different: yellowish-green, yellow or orange-yellow. mouth opening looks like a tube. Through it, food enters the body. The torso and head are connected to each other ... by the neck! Do you see this in other fish? On the head are two very expressive big eyes.

Where does the rag-picker live?

This animal is characterized by areas with moderate temperature, so you can meet it in the waters of the Indian Ocean: near the coast of the Australian continent (more precisely, its southern, southeastern and southwestern parts). In addition, the rag-picker seahorse lives in the eastern and northern part of the island of Tasmania (which is an island state of Australia).

Lifestyle and behavior of a rag-picker

The natural habitats of this fish are considered Coral reefs and shallow water (up to 20 meters). The water temperature, as mentioned above, should be moderate.

Looking at this creature, it seems that it is harmless and very calm. But beauty is deceiving! The rag-picker seahorse is a real predator! And shrimp become its victims. Due to the lack of teeth, the rag-picker cannot separate the caught prey into parts, so he simply swallows it whole into his long tubular mouth. For a whole day, the animal is able to eat as many as 3,000 shrimp! How gluttonous he turns out to be, this rag-picker!

Research scientists have shown that under the conditions wildlife The rag-picker seahorse lives up to four to five years.

What does a ragfish eat?

The main food for these representatives of the needle family is, of course, however, rag-pickers eat plankton and small underwater plants. When food gets into the rag-picker oral cavity, then some kind of filtration occurs: the water is poured back into environment through the gills, and the food, already filtered, remains in the mouth.

seahorse breeding

The mating season for these fish falls on the first half of summer. When the female and male form a pair, they begin picturesque pair "dances". Both partners move smoothly and at the same time still change their color.

After that, the female lays eggs, there are often about 150 of them in a clutch. And she lays them ... no - no, not on algae leaves and not even on stones, but on ... the male's tail! Until the very birth of the fry, the male rag-picker carries the egg clutch on himself.

A month later (sometimes two months), fry appear that are capable of independent life immediately after hatching. In my own way appearance they look like adults, but they are quite defenseless, and their parents have already abandoned them and no longer protect them. Therefore, a very small percentage of fry survive to adulthood.

Human Application

Seahorses-rag-pickers are caught mainly for placing them in aquariums. But too frequent capture of these fish led to the fact that their population began to decline sharply, so they are taken under protection, and their official capture is prohibited by law.

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