Editing Seahorse (section)

==Feeding habits==
[[File:Black Sea fauna Seahorse.JPG|thumb|right|Seahorses rely on stealth to ambush small prey such as [[copepod]]s. They use [[Aquatic predation#Pivot feeding|pivot feeding]] to catch the copepod, which involves rotating their snout at high speed and then sucking in the copepod.<ref name="Langley2013" />]]Seahorses use their long snouts to eat their food with ease. However, they are slow to consume their food and have extremely simple digestive systems that lack a stomach, so they must eat constantly to stay alive.<ref name="Woods2002">{{Cite journal|last=Woods|first=Chris M. C.|date=September 2002|title=Natural diet of the seahorse ''Hippocampus abdominalis''|journal=New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research|volume=36|issue=3|pages=655–660|doi=10.1080/00288330.2002.9517121|issn=0028-8330|doi-access=free|bibcode=2002NZJMF..36..655W }}</ref> Seahorses are not very good swimmers, and for this reason they need to anchor themselves to [[seaweed]], [[coral]] or anything else that will keep the seahorse in place. They do this by using their [[prehensile tail]]s to grasp their object of choice.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Flynn|first1=A. J.|last2=Ritz|first2=D. A.|date=June 1999|title=Effect of habitat complexity and predatory style on the capture success of fish feeding on aggregated prey|journal=Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom|volume=79|issue=3|pages=487–494|issn=1469-7769|doi=10.1017/s0025315498000617|bibcode=1999JMBUK..79..487F |s2cid=86160386 }}</ref> Seahorses feed on small [[crustaceans]] floating in the water or crawling on the bottom. With excellent [[camouflage]], seahorses ambush prey that floats within striking range, sitting and waiting until an optimal moment.<ref name="Woods2002"/> [[Mysid shrimp]] and other small crustaceans are favorites, but some seahorses have been observed eating other kinds of [[invertebrates]] and even [[larval]] fish. In a study of seahorses, the distinctive head morphology was found to give them a hydrodynamic advantage that creates minimal interference while approaching an evasive prey. Thus the seahorse can get very close to the [[copepod]]s on which it preys.<ref name="Langley2013">{{cite web |author=Langley, Liz |date=26 November 2013 |url=http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2013/11/26/why-does-the-seahorse-have-its-odd-head-mystery-solved/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131127023754/http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2013/11/26/why-does-the-seahorse-have-its-odd-head-mystery-solved/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 November 2013 |title=Why Does the Seahorse Have Its Odd Head? Mystery Solved – News Watch |publisher=Newswatch.nationalgeographic.com }}</ref><ref name="Gemmell-2013">{{Cite journal |doi=10.1038/ncomms3840 |title=Morphology of seahorse head hydrodynamically aids in capture of evasive prey |journal=Nature Communications |volume=4 |year=2013 |last1=Gemmell |first1=B. J. |last2=Sheng |first2=J. |last3=Buskey |first3=E. J. |pmid=24281430 |bibcode=2013NatCo...4.2840G |page=2840 |doi-access=free}}</ref> After successfully closing in on the prey without alerting it, the seahorse gives an upward thrust and rapidly rotates the head aided by large tendons that store and release elastic energy, to bring its long snout close to the prey. This step is crucial for prey capture, as oral suction only works at a close range. This two-phase prey capture mechanism is termed pivot-feeding.<ref name="Gemmell-2013" /><ref>{{Cite journal |title=Extremely fast prey capture in pipefish is powered by elastic recoil |journal=Journal of the Royal Society Interface |date=2008-03-06 |issn=1742-5689 |pmc=2607401 |pmid=17626004 |pages=285–296 |volume=5 |issue=20 |doi=10.1098/rsif.2007.1124 |first1=Sam Van |last1=Wassenbergh |first2=James A. |last2=Strother |first3=Brooke E. |last3=Flammang |first4=Lara A. |last4=Ferry-Graham |first5=Peter |last5=Aerts}}</ref> Seahorses have three distinctive feeding phases: preparatory, expansive, and recovery. During the preparatory phase, the seahorse slowly approaches the prey while in an upright position, after which it slowly flexes its head ventrally. In the expansive phase, the seahorse captures its prey by simultaneously elevating its head, expanding the buccal cavity, and sucking in the prey item. During the recovery phase, the jaws, head, and hyoid apparatus of the seahorse return to their original positions.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bergert|first1=B. A.|last2=Wainwright|first2=P. C.|date=1997-03-14|title=Morphology and kinematics of prey capture in the syngnathid fishes ''Hippocampus erectus'' and ''Syngnathus floridae''|journal=Marine Biology|volume=127|issue=4|pages=563–570|doi=10.1007/s002270050046|bibcode=1997MarBi.127..563B |s2cid=84452341|issn=0025-3162}}</ref>

The amount of available cover influences the seahorse's feeding behaviour. For example, in wild areas with small amounts of vegetation, seahorses will sit and wait, but an environment with extensive vegetation will prompt the seahorse to inspect its environment, feeding while swimming rather than sitting and waiting. Conversely, in an aquarium setting with little vegetation, the seahorse will fully inspect its environment and makes no attempt to sit and wait.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Rosa|first1=Ierecê L.|last2=Dias|first2=Thelma L.|last3=Baum|first3=Julia K.|date=2002|title=Threatened Fishes of the World: ''Hippocampus reidi'' Ginsburg, 1933 (Syngnathidae)|journal=Environmental Biology of Fishes|volume=64|issue=4|pages=378|doi=10.1023/a:1016152528847|bibcode=2002EnvBF..64..378R |s2cid=26782777|issn=0378-1909}}</ref>
[[File:Pygmy Seahorse - Hippocampus bargibanti.jpg|alt=|thumb|Seahorse hiding using camouflage]]
[[Image:Seahorse-aquarium.jpg|thumb|Seahorses (''[[Hippocampus erectus]]'') at the [[New England Aquarium]]|alt=]]