Lined Seahorse

Hippocampus erectus

The lined seahorse varies in color from mottled yellow and orange to brown, gray or black, depending on its surroundings. Adults have:

• Rings of bony plates covering the body.
• Dark lines on the head, neck and back.
• A long snout with a small, toothless mouth at the end.
• A tapered, grasping tail without a fin at the tip.
• A head that is shaped like a horse's and is perpendicular to the seahorse's body.

Seahorses usually grow to about 5 to 6 inches.

Where does the lined seahorse live?

Lined seahorses can be found year-round in the middle to lower Chesapeake Bay, as far north as Calvert County, Maryland.

• During warm-weather months, seahorses live among eelgrass beds in the Bay's shallows.
• In the winter, seahorses move to deeper waters.

What does the lined seahorse eat?

Lined seahorses mostly eat tiny crustaceans, which they suck through their long, tubular snouts. Seahorses will ambush their prey by changing color to blend in with their surroundings and wrapping their tail around an object to remain still.

How does the lined seahorse reproduce?

Lined seahorses have unique spawning habits.

• The male and female go through an elaborate courtship, after which the female seahorse lays her eggs into the male's brood pouch, where he fertilizes and cares for them.
• After approximately two weeks, the male releases a cloud of tiny, fully-formed seahorses from the top of his pouch.
• Juvenile seahorses, which measure less than one-quarter of an inch, quickly take on the habits of adults.

Other facts about the lined seahorse:

• Lined seahorses are poor swimmers, so they rely on their camouflage ability to hide from predators and conceal themselves from prey. In fact, they blend in with their surroundings so well that it is often difficult for scientists to find them for studies.
• Most people do not know that seahorses live in the Chesapeake Bay. The lined seahorse is the only seahorse found in the Bay.
• Lined seahorses can be kept in an aquarium if fed live food, such as zooplankton or brine shrimp.