smells so bad that nothing likes him. His safety is further 

 insured by a chameleon-like ability to take on the coloration of 

 the reeds and grasses of his seaweed home. 



Hippocampus punctulatus has eyes that operate independ- 

 ently of each other, enabling him to look forward with one for 

 the minute crustaceans and tiny guppies he feeds on, while 

 using the other to look back and guard his rear. He can also look 

 up and down at the same time. 



Hippocampus takes food into his toothless, tubular mouth 

 by means of suction, and will eat nothing but live food. Another 

 curious feature is a gas bladder which enables him to keep his 

 upright position. If this bladder is damaged, and Hippocampus 

 loses even the tiniest portion of his gas, he surrenders to the 

 law of gravity and sinks to the bottom, there to lie helpless until 

 death overtakes him, or until his gas bladder heals. 



But most amazing is the role he takes in the begetting of 

 new herds of seacolts. The seamare has only the briefest part 

 in the foaling; she merely provides the eggs and then swims 

 away, perhaps never to see husband and young again. 



After fertilization the eggs slip mysteriously into a kangaroo- 

 like pouch on the seahorse's stomach, where the young stay until 

 they hatch. One seastallion's motherly-fatherly performance was 

 observed at close range by William Beebe, eminent naturalist. 



He seined his specimen off a bathing beach and recorded the 

 birthing in his book Nonsuch; Land of Water as follows: "As 

 he glided gracefully about the aquarium I saw that he was a 

 horse of unusual beauty. He was full-grownone hundred mil- 

 limeters from snout to tail or, less impressively, four inches. 



"The parent Hippocampus had taken a firm grip with his 

 tail on a seafern and was swaying back and forth with pouch 

 pushed far forward. As I watched, the body was drawn back, 

 every muscle being brought into play. As the pouch reached 

 its utmost distention an opening enlarged, and with a con- 

 vulsive movement there was ejected a whole herd of young. 

 Five more parental convulsions took place before the pouch 

 was empty and the seahorse was father-mother to 306 seacolts 

 in all." 



245 



