"THE SEA HORSE" "The sea horse despite its unusual appearance, is an ordinary fish no longer than six inches when found off our coasts." "The sea horse's body is covered by a system of scutes which form spines, adding to its medieval appearance, its upper body is like a horse, its lower body like a caterpillar, lt is the only aquatic vertebrate to "stand upright"." "This vertical stance is typical of the sea horse and lends it a slightly pompous air." "It's also the only fish with a prehensile tail like the chameleon, allowing it to wrap itself around algae or a fellow sea horse's neck." "Thus suspended by its tail, it can maintain its vertical stance." "Unlike the monkey, who hangs upside-down due to gravity," "the sea horse is usually brick-red, dark green or dark grey and can turn white under certain circumstances and sometimes even a mixture of colors," "Its bulge, reminiscent of a horse's chest corresponds exactly to other fishes' upper body and houses all the animal's organs." "This is the airbladder a very sensitive stabilizer, which, if upset, can cause the sea horse to lose its balance," "Its respiratory organs, shaped like a powder puff, are characteristic of the group to which it belongs." "Watching the animal breathing from behind, we see the strange way in which its small cranial bones rise and fall." "The pouting lower lip of its toothless mouth gives it a look of unease, transformed into one of worry by its shining eyes." "Some species have horns on their head and body." "It moves horizontally with the help of a dorsal fin, and vertically with the help of fins on each side of its head." "The tail helps it to balance but does not propel it." "What makes this fish even stranger is the exceptional fact that the male has a pouch on his front into which the female deposits 200 eggs in several batches." "Here, multiple sea horses form a lovely balletic tableau." "The male fertilizes the eggs as he receives them from the female." "What's more he takes on what's usually the female role,- nourishing the embryos in his pouch." "Five or six weeks later the male truly goes through giving birth." "An anguished expression accompanies a rolling of his eyes." "His body convulses and twists on the spot." "His breathing speeds up." "Finally, a massive contraction flattens the pouch, signaling that it's time for the offspring to be released." "Since just a few babies leave each time delivery takes several hours." "Opening up the male's pouch shows a lining of tissue that encases the eggs in a network of blood vessels vital to the embryos." "Once the embryos have left, this tissue reverts to ordinary connecting tissue." "At first, the embryo in the father's pouch has no mouth." "It has a round head with huge eyes." "Its body tapers to a thin, already ringed tail." "The enormous yolk sac attached to its front will be gradually absorbed." "Then the body begins to take shape, the mouth develops, making it look like a king Charles spaniel." "The outline of its scutes begins to form," "Greatly magnified, we see the very young colored cells in strange shapes." "The heart." "Soon the snout grows longer." "We see the small valve closing, the mobility of the articulated tail contrasts with the rest of the animal." "The eyes are still very large compared to the head." "The adult in miniature is finally formed." "It can move vertically, with its head at a right angle to its body." "It's at its optimum stage of development an era successful birth." "Artificially slowing down the heart, we can see more clearly the contractions of the auricles ventricle and bulb of the aorta." "The rays of the dorsal fin move independently." "Very young sea horses attach themselves to each other and play push-me-pull-you in twos or threes." "Although his pouch is now empty, the male is still affected for some time by contractions caused by gaseous secretions from the internal pouch walls." "The sea horse is too slow to get very faraway in an emergency or quickly hide in algae or sand." "Besides, a frantic getaway typical of other fishes would not befÌt the majesty of this animal." "It feeds on microscopic animals, crustaceans, and various larvae that it catches with a snap of the mouth." "One can imagine how much food is needed to feed certain species of sea horses of fthe coasts of Australia and Japan that grow to two feet in length." "Maybe it isn't really threatened by other marine animals or by man, which would account for its calm in the face of events which do not form part of its daily life." "You can't help wanting to give this animal limbs or legs." "When you see it moving about, its body vertical, its head horizontal, this aquatic vertebrate is strangely reminiscent of a biped."