Common Seahorse

    Hippocampus kuda

The Common Seahorse, scientifically known as Hippocampus kuda, lives from Australia to China and the region of this organism is in mangroves, coastal seagrass beds, and estuaries. The Common Seahorse is grouped into the domain, Eukarya and the kingdom, Animalia. This organism is scientifically grouped into the phylum, Chordata and the class, Actinopterygii. The Common Seahorse belongs to the order, Syngnathiformes and the family, Syngnathidae. The genus of this organism is Hippocampus and the species is kuda. The Common Seahorse has bilateral symmetry and is an ectothermic organism, which means that they are cold-blooded. This organism preys upon zooplankton, larval fish, and small crustaceans, making this organism a heterotroph. The Common Seahorse is preyed upon by humans, Loggerhead Sea Turtles, and tuna. An interesting fact that i found was that Common Seahorses are different colors depending on whether it is a boy or a girl. A structural adaptation for this organism is that it has tiny pectoral fins that help it to swim. Another structural adaptation for the Common Seahorse is that they use camouflage to blend in with their surroundings and hide from predators. A behavioral adaptation for this organism is that it stays in the mangrove for protection from predators. Seahorses are very colorful creatures that drift around in the water.

I got this picture from http://www.arkive.org/common-seahorse/hippocampus-kuda/

by:Alexandra Ewing