• Animal

    Genes reveal how the seahorse got its snout and why males get pregnant

    Seahorses remain an enigma. These mysterious-looking creatures appear to float around coastal seas with a grace and level of perfection that sucks in observers and admirers from all quarters of society. In ancient Greek and Roman times, seahorses were revered. They were once seen as symbols of power and of authority. Even the Latin taxonomic family name stirs the imagination, as Hippocampus translates as the “horse sea monster”. The reality is that seahorses are part of the teleost group – the most common type of fish – and so are far more closely related to an Atlantic cod than to any horses, monsters or imaginary creatures. But seahorses also have…