| Ringing in good tidings for the new year, a newly | | | | openings. Seahorses (like chameleons) can even |
| immigrated resident to Krabi was spotted by one of | | | | move their two eyes independently of each other. |
| our instructors on New Year's Day. At 4-cm long, he | | | | Ranging in size from the tiny 10mm to 35cm, the |
| appears pregnant. Yes, "he" was pregnant as the | | | | largest is the Pacific Seahorse. Seahorses eat small |
| male in this species are the ones to get pregnant and | | | | crustaceans which they catch by staying still and lying |
| productive! | | | | in wait till their prey comes near, and they snap them |
| Krabi, south of Thailand, is the gateway to the | | | | up. Then their tube-like mouth creates a vacuum that |
| famous Andaman Sea where scuba divers and | | | | sucks the prey in and they swallow their food whole. |
| snorkellors from all over the world convene as winter | | | | Sea horses are unusual in a couple of ways. One is |
| approaches in the western world. Famous for its | | | | that they are monogamous and have long courtship |
| incredible waters, great visibility and huge variety of | | | | periods when mating. Monogamy is unusual in all |
| dive terrain, Krabi is a must-stop for all nature and | | | | animals but particularly among fish. The longer a |
| water lovers on vacation in Asia. operates the | | | | couple of seahorses stick together, the better they |
| premier scuba-diving and eco-tourism center in the | | | | are at producing babies. It is the males of seahorses |
| heart of Aonang, the sea-side town of Krabi. Here, | | | | that carry their eggs in a pouch on his belly, after the |
| you can launch off to the amazing Similans, Richelieu | | | | eggs have been deposited there by the female. The |
| Rock, Phi Phi islands, Phuket and Lanta. And lets not | | | | eggs are fertilised in the pouch and incubated |
| forget the relatively unexplored local Krabi waters | | | | between 10 days to 4 weeks before they hatch. At |
| where the caves and caverns provide a great | | | | hatching, the male gives birth to fully developed but |
| underwater adventure. And here is where we found | | | | tiny little seahorses. The natural lifespan of seahorses |
| our Tiger-Tailed Seahorse on New Year's Day! | | | | is not known, but believed to be from one year for |
| Seahorses are amazing creatures. The seahorse is | | | | small species to five years for the larger species. |
| one of four families in the syngnathiform family which | | | | Highly elusive and difficult to spot in moving water, |
| also includes pipefish, flag-tail pipefish and seadragons. | | | | finding a seahorse is every diver's dream come true. |
| They swim in an upright position with their tails down | | | | So, you can imagine our absolute euphoria when we |
| and their heads up using their dorsal to move | | | | spotted the little yellow Tiger-Tail. Being creatures of |
| forward and pectoral fins for steering control. Also | | | | habit, once settled into a location, they tend not to |
| unique for their prehensile tail (able to twist & | | | | move too much. Hence, we can find it again and |
| grasp),tube-like mouth (with no teeth), and small gill | | | | would love to show it to you. |