Rag picker fish. Ragfish seahorse: Australia's unique fish

The grass sea dragon belongs to the needle family (Syngnathidae), which includes seahorses and pipefish. Everyone has known about seahorses for a long time and are already accustomed to their bizarre appearance, but here we have something truly unusual!

Let's face it - seahorses not all that similar to the animals they are named after. Firstly, they have no hooves, and secondly, have you ever seen a horse with such a prehensile tail? These fish received the name “pipit” mainly due to the shape of their head, or because they love to eat refined sugar. Last fact At least not known to me.

But the grass sea dragon (Phyllopteryx taeniolatus), which will be discussed, fully lives up to its name, except that it does not breathe fire.

Growing to a size of 45cm, these amazing imitators truly look like little dragons. Their dorsal fins look like wings. The image is complemented by armor on the body made of bone plates, long tail and a head with a scallop.

This unusual body structure is explained by its habitat. The grass sea dragon lives in temperate zone off the coast of South Australia among kelp and other marine plants. They hide in these forests swaying with the current, hunting for mysid crayfish and other small marine crustaceans.

Ragbills lack a tail fin, making them poor swimmers. These move unusual creatures thanks to energetic strokes of the back and pectoral fins. Pisces form pairs for procreation early summer while performing skillful mating dances. After this, the female lays up to 250 eggs, which are glued to the male’s tail.

The female's role in caring for the offspring is exhausted, and over the next couple of months the male carries the eggs on his tail until they hatch into small copies of the parents.

Unfortunately, there are many threats to this fancy fish, including to a greater extent associated with the destruction of natural habitats. Industrial mining rock lobsters leads to an increase in population size sea ​​urchins Centrostephanus rogersii, which are hunted by lobsters. Sea urchin eats kelp and leaves grass sea ​​dragon in the open, without food, defenseless against predators. Besides. The likelihood of being washed ashore during a storm increases.

Deterioration of living conditions due to human activities - dredging, land reclamation, dumping waste water- further contributes to the extinction of the sea dragon. These and other factors led to Phyllopteryx taeniolatus being listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and natural resources, in the Red Book as endangered.

Features and habitat of the rag picker

Rag seahorse belongs to the species of ray-finned fish, representative of the needle-shaped fish, order - needle-shaped.

« Rag picker» Why exactly that's what it's called small fish? - it would seem a reasonable question, but only if you have never seen it - the numerous camouflage growths on the body of the seahorse resemble small rags swaying in the water.

The body length of an adult individual can reach 35 cm. There are rag pickers in a wide variety of shades of yellow, but the invariably darkened processes remain common to all. If necessary, the fish can change its color.

The main difference between this species and other seahorses is its unusual appearance. The body and head of the fish are covered with light, transparent, shapeless processes reminiscent of seaweed.

The horse looks very impressive, but it does not need these processes for beauty - they serve for camouflage.

Thus, thanks to unusual shape The rag picker's body is almost impossible to see among the thick algae.

This helps him stay alive when the enemy approaches, and also makes the hunting process much easier for him.

It is worth noting that skates are not included in the regular diet of other predatory fish(except for stingrays), since their body contains practically no nutrients - a sedentary lifestyle does not require them to grow muscle mass, and, in addition, an adult has almost 2 times more bones than other fish.

Body structure of a rag picker similar to other seahorses - the mouth resembles a long thin tube, the small head is connected to the elongated body by the neck, two small but beautiful eyes, which move independently of each other.

You can meet the fish in the waters of the Indian Ocean, washing Australia and Tasmania. Mostly the rag picker lives V coral reefs at a depth of 4 to 20 (less often 30) meters, loves moderate temperature and dense thickets of algae.

This species is protected by the Australian government as it is endangered. This sad fact is due to a large number industrial emissions into the waters of the Indian Ocean, as well as direct human intervention in the life of fish.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to resist the beauty of the rag-picker, and amateur divers often make underwater forays solely to catch a few fish for home aquarium, even though it is punishable by law.

The character and lifestyle of a rag picker

It would seem thanks a large number With fin-like processes, the fish must move at tremendous speed, however, in the process of movement the processes do not play any role.

Floats rag picker only with a pair of pectoral and one dorsal fin. The process itself is carried out through rapid (about 10 times per second) swaying of the transparent fins, which seems to carry the fish downstream. In this state, it can also be easily mistaken for a small floating algae.

The skate constantly maintains a vertical position, since the bubble passes throughout the body to the head, where most of it is located.

Maximum speed The movement of an adult is 150 meters per minute; the fish can hold it for a long time, thereby covering significant distances.

Of course, this speed is not enough to break away from the enemy, so the only defense mechanism The rag picker's arsenal includes camouflage.

It is also noteworthy that the skate can maintain full real estate for the purpose of camouflage on for a long time(up to 68 hours), only its shoots will move in time with the movement of water, reinforcing the impression that it is an algae.

Distinctive feature All seahorses have a tail, with which they can grab onto algae in case of rough water or storm, however, this type does not have such a skill, therefore rag pickers often washed ashore, as a result of which they die in large numbers.

Rag picker's food

Despite the external beauty and fragility, rag picker- the most real predator. Being a small fish, the seahorse is forced to look for even smaller food.

As a rule, the rag picker feeds on small crustaceans, plankton and a variety of algae. Moreover, the amount of food consumed daily is quite impressive - with a successful hunt, a pipit can swallow up to 3,000 small shrimp.

The meal itself is simple - the skate simply swallows the prey whole, due to the lack of teeth or oral plates in order to survive it.

While the food reaches the esophagus, a filtration process occurs, as a result, the water swallowed along with the prey exits through the gills, and the food itself is swallowed by the fish.

Hunting can be done remotely - the gill covers create a thrust with which the skate can pull in prey from a distance of 4 cm.

Reproduction and lifespan of the rag picker

The mating season begins at the beginning of summer with intricate dances of the future partners. Like other types of skates, male sea ​​rag picker plays a key role in the process of childbirth, and this despite the fact that it lacks an egg sac, where the female usually places the eggs for fertilization and gestation.

The female lays about 120 dark red eggs, which are located in a special place near the male’s tail.

There the process of fertilization takes place and the eggs live on the father’s body for another 4-8 weeks, until the babies appear.

Throughout pregnancy, the female and male stay nearby, periodically organizing a belated courtship dance, during which the skin color of both individuals becomes much brighter than usual.

As soon as babies are born, they immediately enter into an independent life, left to their own devices; parents do not take any part in raising them.

Unfortunately, only 5 percent of these unusual creatures survive to mature age and are capable of producing the next generation. Under favorable circumstances in wildlife horse a rag picker lives about 5 years.

A small fish, the seahorse, lives at shallow depths among aquatic plants; its shape and color are similar to algae. Name the type of protective device it has against enemies, explain its meaning and relative character. 1) the resemblance of an animal to a stationary one natural object-a plant is called a patronizing resemblance (imitation); 2) the seahorse hangs among aquatic plants and is invisible to predators; 3) when the fish moves or on open space it becomes accessible and noticeable to enemies.

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Probably each of you is familiar with a sea creature that is shaped like a small horse. This is a ragpicker - a seahorse that is part of the order of ray-finned fish. It lives sea ​​creature V Indian Ocean, near the Australian continent. Settles in coral reefs, among dense seaweed, at shallow depths, up to 20 meters. Loves water average temperature. Currently, the population of the rag picker has greatly decreased, which forced the Australian government to adopt a number of laws to protect it.

The rag picker is a miniature fish with a bizarre shape. It reaches only 30 centimeters in length. Her body is covered with flexible growths that perform a camouflage function. They sway in the water, similar to seaweed. Against their background, the horse is completely invisible. The fish has a yellow body color, but if necessary, it can change it, masquerading as the color of corals.

We have already focused your attention on the unusual shape of the skate’s body, which is covered with shaggy growths that look like algae. Most likely, for this reason he was called a rag picker.

The rag picker's body contains virtually no muscles. Nutrients there is very little in it. Most fish, except stingrays, do not feed on it. But an adult skate has more than enough bones. The shape of the ragpicker is no different from other seahorses. A small head, with an extended muzzle, an arched body. The eyes can move independently of each other.

The skate looks very impressive in the water. That's probably why these sea ​​creatures often become residents of home aquariums. The rag picker swims very smoothly. Sometimes it can be mistaken for seaweed floating quietly downstream. Moves with the help of the chest and dorsal fins, which he quickly shakes. The skate swims only in a vertical position. It can swim 150 meters in one minute. At the slightest danger, it hides in the algae and freezes. It can remain in this state for a very long time. To avoid being carried away by the current, the common seahorse grabs the algae with its tail. The rag picker does not have such an ability, and therefore often ends up on the shore, where it is washed up sea ​​wave. It cannot live on land and quickly dies there.

The ragpicker seahorse is a predator. It feeds on plankton, small crustaceans, and shrimp. Doesn't give up seaweed. It has no teeth, so food is swallowed whole. To reach plankton, the skate sucks water into its mouth and passes it through its gills. All living beings located at a distance of 4 centimeters from it are filtered and enter the stomach.

The mating season occurs at the beginning of summer. The female lays about 100 eggs in the tail of the male, where they are fertilized and hatched. After four weeks, the eggs hatch into babies. When entering into a mating relationship, rag pickers perform an original mating dance, during which the color of their bodies changes. Babies are born completely independent and do not need parental care. Not everyone survives to adulthood. Some will die on the shore, some will be eaten by predators. As a rule, no more than 5% of all births survive. A seahorse lives on average 5 years.

The seahorse is a small fish, which is a representative of the Spine family from the order Stickleback. Research has shown that the seahorse is a highly modified pipefish. Today the seahorse is pretty rare creature. In this article you will find a description and photo of a seahorse and learn a lot of new and interesting things about this extraordinary creature.

The seahorse looks very unusual and its body shape resembles a chess piece of a horse. The seahorse fish has many long bony spines and various leathery projections on its body. Thanks to this body structure, the seahorse appears unnoticed among the algae and remains inaccessible to predators. The seahorse looks amazing, it has small fins, its eyes rotate independently of each other, and its tail is curled into a spiral. The seahorse looks diverse, because it can change the color of its scales.

The seahorse looks small, its size depends on the species and varies from 4 to 25 cm. In the water, the seahorse swims vertically, unlike other fish. This is due to the fact that the seahorse’s swim bladder consists of an abdominal and a head part. The head bladder is larger than the abdominal one, which allows the seahorse to maintain an upright position when swimming.

Now the seahorse is becoming increasingly rare and is on the verge of extinction due to a rapid decline in numbers. There are many reasons for the disappearance of the seahorse. The main one is the destruction by humans of both the fish itself and its habitats. Off the coast of Australia, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines, pipits are being caught en masse. The exotic appearance and bizarre body shape are the reason why people began to make gift souvenirs from them. For beauty, the tail is artificially arched and the body is given the shape of the letter “S”, but in nature skates do not look like that.

Another reason that contributes to the decline in the seahorse population is that they are a delicacy. Gourmets highly value the taste of these fish, especially the eyes and liver of seahorses. In a restaurant, the cost of one serving of such a dish costs $800.

In total, there are about 50 species of seahorses, 30 of which are already listed in the Red Book. Luckily, seahorses are very fertile and can produce over a thousand young at a time, keeping the seahorses from going extinct. Seahorses are bred in captivity, but this fish is very demanding to keep. One of the most extravagant seahorses is the rag-picker seahorse, which you can see in the photo below.

The seahorse lives in tropical and subtropical seas. The seahorse fish lives mainly at shallow depths or near the shore and leads a sedentary lifestyle. The seahorse lives in dense thickets of algae and other marine vegetation. It attaches itself to plant stems or corals with its flexible tail, remaining almost invisible due to its body covered with various projections and spines.

The seahorse fish changes body color to completely blend in with environment. In this way, the seahorse successfully camouflages itself not only from predators, but also while foraging for food. The seahorse is very bony, so few people want to eat it. The main hunter of the seahorse is the large land crab. The seahorse can travel long distances. To do this, it attaches its tail to the fins of various fish and stays on them until the “free taxi” swims into the algae thickets.

What do seahorses eat?

Seahorses eat crustaceans and shrimp. Seahorses eat very interestingly. The tubular stigma, like a pipette, draws prey into the mouth along with water. Seahorses eat quite a lot and hunt almost the whole day, taking short breaks of a couple of hours.

Seahorses eat about 3 thousand planktonic crustaceans per day. But seahorses eat almost any food, as long as it does not exceed the size of their mouth. The seahorse fish is a hunter. With its flexible tail, the seahorse clings to the algae and remains motionless until the prey is in the required proximity to the head. After which the seahorse absorbs water along with food.

How do seahorses reproduce?

Seahorses reproduce quite in an unusual way, because their fry is carried by the male. Seahorses often have monogamous pairs. Mating season seahorses are an amazing sight. A couple who are about to enter into a marriage union are held together by their tails and dance in the water. During the dance, the skates press against each other, after which the male opens a special pocket in the abdominal area, into which the female throws eggs. Subsequently, the male bears offspring for a month.

Seahorses reproduce quite often and produce large offspring. A seahorse gives birth to one thousand or more young at a time. The fry are born an absolute copy of the adults, only very tiny. The babies that are born are left to their own devices. In nature, a seahorse lives for about 4-5 years.

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