WHEN YOU
LOOK
Western Bluebird
Limitless Lined Seahorse
WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE LINED SEAHORSE, YOU SEE THE UNEXPECTED.
The lined seahorse.
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In 1810, George Perry first described the creature with a prehensile tail, a tubelike mouth, and protective bony plates as the Hippocampus Hudsonius (or Erectus). The English translated name for this is the lined (most common), spotted, or northern seahorse.
Seahorses break past cultural, social and gender norms. Perhaps the most known unexpected aspect of the lined seahorse is males give birth. In the reproduction process, the female lays her eggs into the male’s brood pouch, where they are fertilized and incubate for 2 weeks before they hatch. Then, the male releases a cloud of 100-300 tiny, fully formed seahorses from his pouch into the water. The male pouch can carry up to 2,000 babies at a time. After they are released into the water, the parents do not play a role in the baby seahorse’s life.
The seahorse is a symbol for charm, loyalty, balance, mysticism and more. There are many myths and stories surrounding seahorses. One of the most significant is from several Asian cultures where the seahorse has been associated with dragons, which represent good luck, healing, and prosperity. This association with healing has led to their being used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for more than 600 years. This leads to a high demand for them, and trade plays a big role, both medicinal and aquarium trade. The lined seahorse is traded internationally, both live and dried, especially in Brazil and Mexico, and domestically in Central America.
The biological features of the seahorse.
Male and female seahorse mating.
All these values for humans have led to the lined seahorse being listed as “threatened” on the Red List of Threatened Species. There are some conservation efforts that have been put into place, such as Project Seahorse, a marine conservation organization, but there is still room for improvement if we want to ensure their survival.
The seahorse dried, being used as Chinese medicine, one of the seahorse’s values and meanings to the world.