The Hippocampus erectus, Lined Seahorse can be found in coastal waters from Canada to Argentina. The seahorse is a true fish, but with it's horse shaped head, monkey tail, and chameleon like eyes, it doesn't look like one. It's life span is short, lasting no longer than four years, and they are difficult to keep in captivity. In the wild, seahorses are greedy eaters, consuming a variety of plankton, which they approach with heads lowered, their toothless mouths opened wide, and then quickly suck up their food. Considered the slowest swimmer among fish, the seahorse uses it's dorsal fin to travel among the eel grass. Their almost invisible lace-like pectoral fins, located on the sides of their heads, are used like rudders. At top speed, it would take a seahorse 2½ days to travel .6 miles.

In the marine world, the male seahorse would be nominated for "Father of the Year". They come equipped with a pouch

located on their lower abdomen made especially for raising their young. The female will deposit up to 200 eggs in this pouch which he then nurtures for approximately 21 days. Laboring for one to two days, he releases a stream of miniature seahorses. The young now face a myriad of predators including fish, crustaceans, and anemones. Although they are able to swim, they can be easily washed away in storms.

Adult seahorses do have a few natural predators, despite the bony plating which covers their body. Crabs can be a menace and they are also consumed by wading shorebirds. Camouflage is also used for defense and the eelgrass to which they grasp with their flexible tails is a perfect cover. Many other types of seahorses or seadragons have adapted their shape to match the cover in which they live.

By far man is the seahorse's greatest threat. Many seahorses are taken to be kept in aquariums, though few of these survive as they succumb easily to disease and are difficult to feed. Many more are harvested and used in Asian markets where they are considered aphrodisiacs and believed to have medicinal qualities. The legal trade in seahorses is huge and many biologists fear for their survival if this continues at it's current level. Seabeds, coral reefs, mangroves and eel grass beds are destroyed in seahorse harvest. You can help the seahorse by keeping local beaches clean and making sure to immediately release any wild seahorse you may find.