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Sheryl Murray, age 10, of Newport News, Virginia, for her question:

How bid is the biggest seahorse?

Actually, two very different seahorses compete for this title. Neither of them is what you would call a real giant and nobody can say for sure which one is really the biggest of all the seahorses. Most likely Americans would claim this title for a certain seshorse that lives off our west coast. But without a doubt, the people of Australia would claim the same title for an almost invisible seahorse living a sheltered life along their southern shores.

There are about 50 different seahorses in various warm offshore waters of the world. One of the giant species enjoys life in the mild Pacific, from Southern California down as far as northern Peru. This contender for the title measures about one foot from the crown of his proud little head to the tip of his curly tail. The other contender is the leafy dragon seahorse. He is spotted once in a great while off southern Australia. From end to end, he also measures about one foot.

Australia's leafy dragon however, is one of the shyest of all fishes and possibly one of the rarest. Besides, he is outfitted in leafy trimmings that blend with the seaweeds to make him almost invisible. He wears the usual seahorse coat of small, scalar plates of armor. But special strips of skin grow from his body in raggedy ribbons. From head to tail, he is surrounded by floating streamers that look for all the world like floating seaweed. What's more, he spends most of his time with his tail coiled around a patch of matching seaweed.

Many 12 inch Pacific seahorses have been found and perhaps there are a few longer specimens. But only a few leafy dragons have been found, not enough to be sure that larger specimens are not lurking in the scenery. Several of their.bodies measure 12 inches. But if we count their trailing draperies, we might say that some of them measure a little longer. In which case, perhaps we should award the title of Biggest Seahorse to the native Australian.

Seahorses are true fishes, though they do not look much like other fishes. For one thing, they swim around in an upright position and have monkey type tails for grasping seaweed and other floating objects. They have fishy fins, though you hardly notice them. Actually, they are more like gauzy little insect wings. At top speed, a seahorse glides through the water at a snail's pace    with his tiny fins madly vibrating more than 2,000 times per minute.

Most seahorses of the Atlantic and other coastal waters measure from four to seven and a half inches. The smallest species is at home in the Atlantic, in certain weedy waters off the shores of Florida. This dainty and dignified little dwarf seahorse measures only two inches from the tip of his nose to the tip of his monkey tail.

 

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