Getting Around It’s good that seahorses can hide because they aren’t fast swimmers. T ey don’t swim the same way other fish do. Most fish have strong tail fins. T ey wiggle their tail fins to zip through the water. T e seahorse doesn’t have a tail fin.


It has a tiny fin on its back. It flutters this fin to swim forward. It has two small fins on its head, too. It uses them to move from side to side. Another part of a seahorse’s body


helps it to move up and down. T is part is called a swim bladder. It’s like a balloon inside the seahorse’s body. To float, the seahorse fills the bladder with air. To sink, the seahorse lets out some of the air.


Touching With Tails T e seahorse doesn’t use its tail for swimming. Yet it does use its tail for something else. T e seahorse wraps its tail around


plants to stay in place. Now, strong waves can’t sweep it away.


This seahorse wraps its tail around a plant to keep itself from drifting away.


On the Hunt A seahorse is a good hunter. Its eyes and snout are its hunting tools. T e seahorse’s eyes can move separately. A seahorse can use its eyes to look all around it without moving its body. One eye can look for food. T e other eye can watch for predators. A seahorse has no teeth, so it can’t


chew or bite its food. It can only eat small animals. It sucks them up through its tube-like snout. It eats shrimps and small fish.


A seahorse curls its tail to hold onto things.


6


FAST FACT: The ridges on a seahorse’s head are as unique


as a fingerprint.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24