Present in the Mediterranean and in the eastern Atlantic Ocean , from the British Isles to Morocco up to the Canary Islands, Azores and Madeira , the seahorse ( Hippocampus guttulatus ) is a curious-looking fish that prefers to inhabit seabeds rich in algae or covered by meadows of Posidonia , from 1-2 m up to 20-25 m depth; furthermore, it often goes inside the lagoons .

The body is short and ends with a long quadrangular and prehensile tail , with which the seahorse clings firmly to the algae or to the stems of Posidonia.

The muzzle is long and ends with a small mouth and the color is dark brown or greenish-black with light spots. The livery, however, in some individuals becomes partially or totally yellow or red.

Overall this fish reaches a length of 15-16 cm . The distinctive character of the species is the numerous thorn-like skin filaments present all over the animal's back and head.

Small and cute-looking, the seahorse is present in our seas in seabeds rich in algae. And it's the dad who gives birth to the little ones!

Prehensible tail

When it is not clinging to the seabed with its tail, the seahorse swims slowly and in a vertical position driven by the movement of the dorsal fin .

During mating , which usually takes place between May and July, the female and the male intertwine their tails and, after fertilization has taken place, the approximately 200 eggs produced by the mother are taken over by the father , who looks after them lovingly for 5-8 weeks inside a ventral pouch , from where the little ones will emerge already perfectly formed. For this reason, the species is defined as ovoviviparous . Hippocampus guttulatus feeds mainly on small fish and crustaceans , especially shrimp , which it hunts by ambushing them quickly.

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