The warm seabed, especially the shallow sea area, is exceptionally bright and brilliant. There are underwater plants that are better than land forests and grasslands, and there are all kinds of animals swimming among them. The red and white corals growing on the seabed are like flowers and trees planted in a garden; the red and green anemones growing on the rocks are like flowers and plants planted in a garden. This underwater world with crystal clear water and colorful colors is very aptly compared to the "Crystal Palace".
The strange character living in the "Crystal Palace" is Kaiba. This peculiar fish is only 10-20 centimeters long. Its head is shaped like a horses head, so it is called "seahorse". The seahorses tail is very long, composed of multiple segments, and can flex and extend flexibly and bounce with its tail. Its dorsal fin is like a brocade fan, which often swings to maintain balance and swim upright with graceful and lively movements.
Seahorses not only have a special appearance, but also have special breeding habits. When the breeding season arrives, the hippocampuss side abdominal wall wrinkles toward the center line of the body, slowly forming a wide "pouch". The female seahorse lays her eggs in the male seahorses pouch (female seahorses do not have a pouch). The total number of eggs is about a hundred, and the embryos develop in the pouch. During this period, a dense vascular network layer will be produced in the pouch, which will be in close contact with the embryonic vascular network to supply the nutrients needed by the embryo during its development. When the young hippocampus is fully developed, the male seahorse will begin to "give birth."
Why is the breeding method of seahorses so special?
Because the shallow sea situation is very complex and dangerous. Especially in spring and summer, various marine animals migrate from the deep sea or the ocean to the shallow sea for annual mating and reproduction. The usually quiet Qianhai area was now extremely lively. At the same time, the "interspecies struggle" between the weak and the strong has become particularly fierce. Adult animals will suffer a large number of casualties, and it is more difficult for young animals to escape, especially the large number of animal eggs that have just been laid, which have become a delicacy for animals to compete with each other. For example, cod can spawn tens of millions of eggs at a time, and less than 1% of the eggs actually turn into juvenile fish. Therefore, the struggle for animal species conservation has intensified from generation to generation.
Seahorses are old residents of shallow seas, and their egg-keeping adaptations are certainly more clever than other animals. Not only do female seahorses lay their eggs in the male seahorses pouch, but they also evolve from oviparous to viviparous, making it easy to ensure that all the eggs develop into small seahorses.
