Thereareabout 50 seahorsespeciesranginginsizefrom 2 to 35 centimeters, eachresembling a Frankenstein-likecreationwithbitsandpiecestakenfromvariousanimalscombinedtomakeoneextraordinaryfish.
However, dissectionshavedisprovedthistheory, with a studyontheyellowseahorsefindinginsteadthatthespermductopeningislocated 4.5 millimetersabovethepouchopening.
Andonceinside, thebroodpouchitselfbecomesratherextraordinary, functioningsimilarlyto a mammalianplacentabyprovidingoxygenandnutrientstothegrowingseahorseembryos.
Asthesechangestothebroodpouchmirrorthegrowthoftheseahorsefetuses, theirfindingsindicatethatthepouchisactinginjustthesamewayas a placenta, providing a meanstoexchangeoxygenandcarbondioxideandevennutrientsthroughbloodflow.
Theseplatesaren't ashardasthearmorofotherseaanimals, whichmeansthatwhentheyexperience a force, like a bitefrom a largefish, theplatesdeforminsteadoffracture.
Unliketypicalanimaltails, whicharecylindrical, a seahorsetailhas a squarecross-section.
円筒形の一般的な動物の尾とは異なり、タツノオトシゴの尾は断面が四角形をしている。
Toexplorethebenefitsof a squaretailandhowitcomparesto a traditionalcylindricaltail, a groupofresearchersmade a 3D printedmodelof a seahorsetail, composedof 36 squaresegments, eachwithfour L-shapedbonyplates, aswellas a similarlysegmentedcylindricaltail.
Torotatetheirheadwithsuchlightningspeed, elasticenergyisstoredinthelargetendonsoftheapaxialmuscle, a muscleassociatedwithheadrotation, andthenquicklyreleased.