Seahorse rag-picker. rag-picker seahorse small fish sea-horse rag-picker inhabits

A small fish - a seahorse-rag-picker lives at a shallow depth among aquatic plants, in shape and color it resembles algae. Name the type of its protective device against enemies, explain its meaning and relative nature. 1) the similarity of the animal with the motionless natural object- a plant is called patronizing resemblance(imitation); 2) a seahorse hangs among aquatic plants and is invisible to predators; 3) when the fish moves or in open space, it becomes accessible and noticeable to enemies.

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Rag-picker (lat. Rhycoredurus eques) - ray-finned sea ​​fish from the needle family (lat. Syngnathidae). The presence of many leaf-like growths gives it a very original look, making it look more like a plant than a fish.

It is also called the rag-picker seahorse, although zoologists have identified this miracle Yudo in a separate genus Rhycodurus, which is translated from Greek means "like seaweed tail".

Spreading

Rag-pickers live in cold sea ​​waters on the south coast of western and southern Australia. Their range extends sporadically from the surrounding area Australian city perth before national park Wilson's Promontory on the peninsula of the same name in Victoria.

Fish settle at depths from 3 to 30 m on the border of sandy beaches and coral reefs. Unlike seahorses they are not attached to plants, so during a storm they are often washed ashore. From this point of view sand beach much better than coastal rocks.

Behavior

The color of fish is completely dependent on environmental conditions. In shallow water, they are painted in sandy or olive color. The rag-pickers living on great depths, predominantly dark brown or brownish red. The body length of adults reaches 35 cm. It is extremely rare to come across specimens that have managed to grow up to 50 cm.

The rag-pickers feed on small crustaceans, with a particular focus on shrimp and mysids. They swim very slowly with the help of small translucent fins. Their tail is motionless.

In an hour, these sea slugs move only 100-140 m.

Despite their inactivity, they are almost invisible among underwater vegetation, so they rarely get to dinner with predators.

The rag-picker has no teeth, it swallows its prey whole. During the day, the fish eats up to 3 thousand mysids. He likes to eat protein foods with marine herbaceous plants from the genus Posidonia.

reproduction

Spawning takes place in winter. To continue the family, rag-pickers gather in shallow bays. At this time, females can be easily distinguished from males by their large swollen bellies.

The female lays 250 to 300 eggs, which are attached to the tail of the male.

The eggs are 7 mm long and about 4 mm in diameter. The tail of the new parent acquires a yellowish tint. Happy and proud fathers slowly go into deep waters to devote themselves to the pleasant chores of raising offspring.

Young fish hatch from eggs after about 8 weeks for 6-7 days. Their size does not exceed 3.5 cm. During their first 3-6 hours of life, they remain close to their father. After listening to the father's parting words, the young rag-pickers set off on their own to shallow water.

The view is taken under state protection. Rag-pickers in Australia are bred in aquariums and sold for export. In captivity at good care they live up to 10 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. Exotic appearance and the bizarre shape of the body 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 decline in the population of 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 environment. 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. The mating season of seahorses is an amazing sight. The couple, who are about to enter into a marriage union, are fastened with their tails and dance 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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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 water, in dense thickets of algae coastal waters 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 contain practically no nutrients, and are of no interest to more big fish, the only exceptions are stingrays. Currently, these 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 mating dances in front of each other, 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.

Features and habitat of the rag-picker

seahorse rag-picker belongs to the species of ray-finned fish, a representative of needle-shaped, detachment - needle.

« rag-picker» why exactly so called small fish? - it would seem that the question is reasonable, but only if you never see it - the numerous camouflage growths on the body of the skate resemble small rags swaying in the water.

body length adult can reach 35 cm. There are rag-pickers of a wide variety of shades of yellow, but invariably darkened processes remain common to all. If necessary, the fish can change its shade.

The main difference between this species and other seahorses is its unusual appearance. The body and head of the fish are covered with light, transparent, shapeless processes resembling seaweed.

The horse looks very impressive, but he needs these processes not for beauty - they serve to disguise.

Thus, thanks to unusual shape the bodies of the rag-picker are almost impossible to see among the dense algae.

This helps him stay alive when the enemy approaches, and also makes the hunting process much easier for him.

It is worth noting that skates are not included in the constant diet of others. predatory fish(except for stingrays), since their body contains practically no nutrients - a sedentary lifestyle does not require them to build up muscle mass, and, in addition, in an adult, there are almost 2 times more bones than in other fish.

The structure of the body of a rag-picker similar to others seahorses- the mouth resembles a long thin tube, the small head is connected to the elongated body by the neck, two small, but beautiful eyes that move independently of each other.

You can meet fish in the waters indian ocean bordering Australia and Tasmania. Mainly the rag-picker dwells in coral reefs at a depth of 4 to 20 (rarely 30) meters, loves moderate temperatures and dense thickets of algae.

This species is under the protection of the Australian government, as it is endangered. Caused by this sad fact large quantity industrial emissions into the waters of the Indian Ocean, as well as the direct intervention of people in the life of fish.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to resist the beauty of the rag-picker, and amateur divers often make underwater sorties solely in order to catch a few fish for home aquarium even though it is punishable by law.

The character and lifestyle of a rag-picker

It would seem thanks to a large number fin-like processes, the fish must move at great speed, however, in the process of movement, the processes do not play any role.

Swims rag-picker only with the help of a pair of chest and one dorsal fin. The process itself is carried out by means of a quick (about 10 times per second) swaying of transparent fins, which seems to carry the fish downstream. In this state, it is also easily mistaken for a small floating kelp.

The skate constantly maintains a vertical position, as the bladder passes throughout the body to the head, where its largest part is located.

Max Speed the movement of an adult is 150 meters per minute, the fish can keep it for a long time, thereby overcoming considerable distances.

Of course, this speed is not enough to break away from the enemy, so the only defense mechanism in the rag-picker's arsenal is disguise.

It is also noteworthy that the seahorse can retain full real estate for the purpose of camouflage on long time(up to 68 hours), only its appendages will move in time with the movement of water, reinforcing the impression that it is a seaweed.

Distinctive feature all seahorses have a tail, which they can use to grab onto algae in case of rough water or a storm, however, this species does not have this ability, so rag-pickers often washed ashore, as a result of which they die in large numbers.

The rag-picker's food

Despite the outward beauty and fragility, rag-picker- the real one predator. Being a small fish, the seahorse is forced to look for even smaller food.

As a rule, the rag-picker feeds on small crustaceans, plankton and a variety of algae. Moreover, the amount of food absorbed daily is very impressive - with a successful hunt, a horse can swallow up to 3,000 small shrimps.

The meal itself is uncomplicated - the skate simply swallows the prey whole, due to the lack of teeth or mouth plates in order to survive it.

While the food reaches the esophagus, a filtration process takes place, as a result, the water swallowed along with the prey exits through the gills, and the food itself is swallowed by the fish.

Hunting can be done remotely - gill covers create traction, with the help of which the ridge can draw in prey from a distance of 4 cm.

Reproduction and life span of a rag-picker

Begins mating season at the beginning of summer with intricate dances future partners. As with other types of skates, male sea ​​rag-picker plays a key role in the process of childbearing, and this despite the fact that he does not have an egg sac, where the eggs are usually placed by the female for fertilization and gestation.

The female lays about 120 dark red eggs, which are located in a special place near the tail of the male.

There, the fertilization process takes place and the eggs live on the father's body for another 4-8 weeks, until the babies appear.

Throughout pregnancy, the female and male stay nearby, periodically arranging a belated mating dance, during which the skin color of both individuals becomes much brighter than usual.

As soon as the babies are born, they immediately enter into an independent life, left to their own devices, the parents do not take any part in their cultivation.

Unfortunately, only 5 percent of these unusual creatures survive to adulthood and are able to produce the next generation. Under favorable circumstances, wild nature skate a rag-picker lives about 5 years.