The Jayakar [null Seahorse] is in the Hippocampus genus, [null this seahorse] is statistically entered as Data deficient. [1]
Body Structure: [null Jayakar] are known for their bony plates that are under a [null thin] layer of skin. The color [null consists] of beige with small white spots along the entire body. [null Also, sharp elongated barbs are seen across the body]. The Jayakar seahorse has a brood pouch used for reproduction. [null This seahorse has the ability to grasp which is known as Prehensile. The average size of this species ranges from 12-14 cm in length.] [1]
Reproduction: Like other sea horses, they reproduce via the brood pouch. The brood pouch is at the end of the male’s tail. This is where they are fertilized. It takes 4-6 weeks for the young to develop in the pouch. Once fully developed, they extrude via the pouch. The pouch acts similar to a female’s womb in mammals, allowing for nutrients to be provided for the fetus. [1]
Habitat: The species is typically found in coastal water near places such as Israel, Oman and Pakistan. [null F]eeding includes being very vicious and being big predators for a species their size. They ingest through an opening at the end of the stout. Their diet consists of many invertebrates and small crustaceans. [1]
Effects: Population declines due to bycatch, which is in the fishing industry that is catching non-targeted species and killing the smaller populations of fish by not returning them. The Jayakar seahorse’s population is so small that on data sheets it shows up as data deficient. [1]
Evolution: Anatomical evidence, supported by molecular, physical, and genetic evidence, demonstrates seahorses are highly modified pipefish. The fossil record of seahorses, however, is very rare to find. The best known and best studied fossils are specimens of H. guttulatus (though literature more commonly refers to them under the synonym of H. ramulosus), from the Rimini Province of Italy, dating back to the Lower Pliocene, about 3 million years ago. The earliest known seahorse fossils are of two pipefish-like species, H. sarmaticus and H. slovenicus from the coprolitic horizon of Tunjice Hills, a middle Miocene lagerstätte in Slovenia dating about 13 million years ago. Molecular dating finds that pipefish and seahorses diverged during the Late Oligocene. This has led to speculation that seahorses evolved in response to large areas of shallow water, newly created as the result of tectonic events. The shallow water would have allowed the expansion of seagrass habitats that selected for the camouflage offered by the seahorses’ upright posture. These tectonic changes occurred in the western Pacific Ocean, pointing to an origin there, with molecular data suggesting two later, separate invasions of the Atlantic Ocean.[1]
http://www.arkive.org/jayakars-seahorse/hippocampus-jayakari/image-G39995.html
"Jayakar's Seahorse Photo." ARKive. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2016.
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