ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY' BL'LLETIN 



THE SEA HORSE. 



THE common American seahorse {Hippo- 

 campus hudsonius) is found all along 

 the American coast from Cape Cod to 

 Soutii Carolina, and occurs in New York- 

 Bay probably throughout the year, as the 

 Aquarium collectors have obtained specimens 

 not only from April to October, but also in 

 February. 



Ordinarily it ranges in size from 3 to 6 

 inches, but on the west coast of Mexico the 

 writer has seen specimens a foot in length, 

 which is about as long as any species ever 

 grows. The sea-horse is probably the only 

 fish which has a prehensile tail ; it is decidedly 

 monkey-like in the use of this organ, constant- 

 ly anchoring itself to weeds, stones and sticks. 

 In fact, it is usually captured in this region 

 by fishermen using pound-nets and gill-nets, 

 with its tail clinging firmly to the meshes of 



the nets, even when they are hauled from the 

 water. 



Many years ago it was common about the 

 wharves of the East River, where now it 

 probably does not find the water sufficiently 

 pure. This fish is of great interest to all 

 visitors. The eggs, while hatching, are carried 

 by the male in a pouch, and the young are 

 said to return to this pouch for shelter. The 

 body of the sea-horse is encased in a bony 

 shell, in segments. Its swimming movements 

 are very slow, and are performed chiefly by 

 rapid undulations of the dorsal fin. Seahorses 

 are drifted freely by ocean currents. One speci- 

 men was kept in a small balanced aquarium for 

 over a year. Usually they cannot be retained 

 so long. The position of the body is usually 

 vertical, especially in swimming, and the head 

 is decidedly horse-like in appearance. In feed- 



