SEA-HORSES AND PIPE-FISHES. 



61 





them, and the young remain in the pouch usually for a short 

 time, after being hatched. The males may be at once dis- 

 tinguished by the presence of this pouch, which does not 

 occur in the females. As the breeding season approaches, 

 the pouch becomes thickened and vascular, and thus pre- 

 pared for the reception of the eggs and the nutriment of 

 the embryos. The males, as is usual in fishes, are some- 

 what smaller than the females. 



Fig. 22. LEAFY SEA-HORSE (Phyllopteryx foltatu*). 



Amongst the Australian representatives may be men- 

 tioned the Common Sea-Horse (Hippocampus novtz- 

 hollandice) , which is the usual form to be picked up on the 

 beaches amongst shells, or, taken from the fisherman's net; 

 particularly if the haul be made over weedy ground. \Yhen 

 in their natural surroundings, it is almost impossible to see 

 these fishes, as their usually neutral-tinted irregular bodies, 

 harmonise so well with their weedy surroundings. 



