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