One sea dragon
species lives deeper
than most scuba
divers can go—over
150 feet deep.ALEX MNATURE PRODUCTION / MUSTARD / NPL / MINDEN PICTURES (1 AND 3, SEA DRAGON); GRAHAMINDEN PICTURES (3, SEAHORSE); GARY BELL / OCEANW EATON / NPL / MIDE / MINDEN PICTURES (THORNY SEAHORSE); INDEN PICTURES (2); SHINJI KUSANO /
HELMUT CORNELI / ALAMY (AUSTRALIAN BANDED PIPEFISH); SCOTT TRAGESER / NATURESTILLS LLC (WEEDY SEA DRAGON) JUNE / JULY 2022 • NAT GEO KIDS (^23)
3
2
They’ve Got Odd Jaws
These three fish belong to the family Syngnathidae (pro-
nounced sig-NA-thi-day), which comes from the Greek
words meaning “jaw” and “together.” Translation: They
can’t open and close their jaws like you do when chomping
on a slice of pizza. Instead, they use their tube-shaped
snouts like powerful vacuums.
For instance, a pipefish glides through the water to
search for tiny crustaceans or plankton. Then—strike!
Lightning fast, the pipefish expands its gills and a pocket
of skin underneath the snout while opening its mouth.
This creates a suction that’s so powerful it busts up the
already itty-bitty shrimp as they enter its mouth. Good
thing—these fish don’t have any teeth.
Sea dragons and seahorses use this same sucking
action to scoop up hundreds of tiny meals in a single day.
“These fish don’t really have true stomachs, just a digestive
tube,” seahorse expert Tacyana Oliveira says. “So they
need to eat and eat all day to get their nutrients.”
See how seahorses,
pipefish, and sea
dragons stack up.
How many species?
Tail tales
What’s that sound?
About 54
These tails grasp objects
like coral and seagrass.
Seahorses click when eating
and growl when stressed.
About 200
Different species use their tails
to signal to others or swim.
Pipefish make a clicking
sound while snacking.
3
A sea dragon’s tail can
mimic seaweed.
Sea dragons might click
or pop when eating.
SEAHORSE PIPEFISH SEA DRAGON
WHICH
FISH?
The Dads^
Are on Duty
These fish might be the
world’s best dads: After
seahorse, pipefish, and
sea dragon moms make
their eggs, they pass
them over to the males
to carry until the young
are released.
For seahorse dads,
that means holding the
eggs in a pouch on the
front side of their tails
for three to four
weeks. When it’s time
to give birth, the dad
pumps water through
the pouch, releasing
hundreds of fry, or baby seahorses, in just a few minutes.
Sea dragon dads also carry their eggs. But instead of
putting them in a brood pouch, the eggs stick to a spongy
patch on the underside of the tails until they hatch.
So why the swap? “It takes a lot of energy to produce
eggs—and a lot of energy to be pregnant,” De Brauwer
says. “So by sharing the work between males and females,
they have more energy to produce more babies.” And just a
day or so after giving birth, the males of some seahorse
species are ready to take on another clutch of eggs.
FRY
EGGS
KOREAN
SEAHORSE
LEAFY
SEA DRAGON
THORNY
SEAHORSE
SNAKE
PIPEFISH
AUSTRALIAN
BANDED PIPEFISH
WEEDY
SEA DRAGON