Dive sites around Puerto Vallarta have an abundance of macro life. In addition to the nudibranch’s we have talked about, there seahorses as well which I love. This is another advantage of taking that step from snorkelling to scuba diving, as you can get up close to these creatures and I could personally watch them for hours. So why do I find them so fascinating I hear you ask, well their characteristics are just crazy. They have stolen different parts of at least 6 animals to make them one of the most interesting creatures to observe. Its horse like head has eyes like a lizard so they can keep one eye out for predators such as, large fish, crabs and sea turtles, while the other eye can watch out for food such as small crustaceans, shrimp, plankton and worms.
Their tube-shaped snout is just like that of an aardvark with a toothless upper and lower jaw. The seahorse rapidly opens and closes its jaws in a snapping motion, acting like a vacuum sucking up its food. Their bony armour plating is just like that of the Stegosaurus, but they have the ability to change colour like a chameleon. With the blink of an eye they lighten or darken to match the colour of their surroundings. This protects them from prey. It’s really cool, but as a diver, very frustrating as it makes them so difficult to find.
The seahorses armour links together with spines like a puffer fish, but this affects their flexibility and the amour is also heavy so consequently they are not good swimmers. When they do swim it’s usually in a vertical position and looks effortless. Their dorsal fin (along its back) is transparent and flaps at 20-30 times per second so we can’t see it. They use pectoral fins (on each side) for direction and move up and down by controlling the volume of gas in their bodies. Just like us divers who need alter the amount of air in our jackets (buoyancy control devices) when changing depth.
They also have monkey like tails. This is because they like to sit and wait for passing food, using their tail to wrap around coral or sea grass and anchor themselves to the ocean floor. Seahorses are monogamous and truly loving to the point that when one partner dies, the other usually dies within a few days. During courting every morning they dance together, rubbing heads, changing colour busting out some synchronised swimming. They link tails to form a V shape.
The female tends to gets easily distracted though, especially with passing food. If the male gets really annoyed he will snap at her head to get her attention which would have to hurt. The male has the same reaction if another male seahorse approaches his partner. Mating happens during a full moon. The female produces 200-600 pinkish eggs and deposits them into the males kangaroo like pouch. He then fertilises them and they grow for 3-6 weeks. When the male gives birth he may actually go through labour pain! Up to 1,500 sea ponies are born and are about 1cm long. They are left to fend for themselves so survival is rare. After 6 months they will have grown to their full size of 15cm and be sexually mature, and hopefully live a healthy paired life of around 4 years.
Sea horses numbers are depleting and it’s illegal to trade them, but it is still happening. Largely due to use in Chinese remedies, but also here in Mexico. I have seen dried seahorses for sale as jewelry, so please help us preserve seahorses by not supporting this trade. The best place to find these creatures is Majahuitas, a few miles south of Mismaloya, but please don’t touch, just observe these fantastic animals.
Their tube-shaped snout is just like that of an aardvark with a toothless upper and lower jaw. The seahorse rapidly opens and closes its jaws in a snapping motion, acting like a vacuum sucking up its food. Their bony armour plating is just like that of the Stegosaurus, but they have the ability to change colour like a chameleon. With the blink of an eye they lighten or darken to match the colour of their surroundings. This protects them from prey. It’s really cool, but as a diver, very frustrating as it makes them so difficult to find.
The seahorses armour links together with spines like a puffer fish, but this affects their flexibility and the amour is also heavy so consequently they are not good swimmers. When they do swim it’s usually in a vertical position and looks effortless. Their dorsal fin (along its back) is transparent and flaps at 20-30 times per second so we can’t see it. They use pectoral fins (on each side) for direction and move up and down by controlling the volume of gas in their bodies. Just like us divers who need alter the amount of air in our jackets (buoyancy control devices) when changing depth.
They also have monkey like tails. This is because they like to sit and wait for passing food, using their tail to wrap around coral or sea grass and anchor themselves to the ocean floor. Seahorses are monogamous and truly loving to the point that when one partner dies, the other usually dies within a few days. During courting every morning they dance together, rubbing heads, changing colour busting out some synchronised swimming. They link tails to form a V shape.
The female tends to gets easily distracted though, especially with passing food. If the male gets really annoyed he will snap at her head to get her attention which would have to hurt. The male has the same reaction if another male seahorse approaches his partner. Mating happens during a full moon. The female produces 200-600 pinkish eggs and deposits them into the males kangaroo like pouch. He then fertilises them and they grow for 3-6 weeks. When the male gives birth he may actually go through labour pain! Up to 1,500 sea ponies are born and are about 1cm long. They are left to fend for themselves so survival is rare. After 6 months they will have grown to their full size of 15cm and be sexually mature, and hopefully live a healthy paired life of around 4 years.
Sea horses numbers are depleting and it’s illegal to trade them, but it is still happening. Largely due to use in Chinese remedies, but also here in Mexico. I have seen dried seahorses for sale as jewelry, so please help us preserve seahorses by not supporting this trade. The best place to find these creatures is Majahuitas, a few miles south of Mismaloya, but please don’t touch, just observe these fantastic animals.
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