Seahorse Use Their Odd Shaped Heads to Stalk Prey [VIDEO]

First Posted: Nov 27, 2013 07:17 AM EST

The docile seahorses swim in the vertical position and have astounded the scientists for years with their extraordinary hunting technique. Scientists at the University of Texas have found that their hunting ability lies in their oddly-shaped head.

According to the latest study conducted by researchers at the University of Texas, Austin, seahorse has long snouted head that allows it to quickly sneak up and snatch a prey. Their prey- copepods- are a crucial component of marine food web.

"A seahorse is one the slowest swimming fish that we know of, but it's able to capture prey that swim at incredible speeds for their size," Brad Gemmell, research associate at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute, which is part of the College of Natural Sciences, said in a statement.

Copepods that are mostly consumed by seadragons, pipefish and seahorses, all of which are unique shaped fish. The copepods can easily detect a predator prior to the attack via disturbances in surrounding waters. The moment they sense danger, they jolt at a greater speed of more than 500 body lengths per second. But what is remarkable of seahorses is that they have the capability of overcoming these sensory abilities. In the aquatic world they are the most amazing predators. About 90 percent of time they are successful with their catch.

To investigate the secret of their successful hunting, the researchers conducted a study on dwarf seahorses (Hippocampus zosterae). These dwarf seahorses that are native to the Bahamas and the U.S. The creatures were observed using high speed digital 3D holography technique. Apart from this they also monitored the prey copepods. The technique involves having a microscope fitted along with a laser and a high speed digital camera to trace their rapid movements.

The study revealed that the seahorse head is shaped in a manner that reduces the ripples and disturbances of water in front of its mouth before it plunges on the prey. They position their head to the prey in such a manner that no disturbance in the water reaches the prey. But the same ability is absent in other tiny fished with blunter heads.

The researchers assume that seahorses developed this odd shaped head partly in response to the pressure to feed on the prey.

"It's like an arms race between predator and prey, and the seahorse has developed a good method for getting close enough so that their striking distance is very short," Gemmell said.

This method of feeding by the seahorse is termed as pivot feeding by the researchers. By rotating the head upwards they get the prey in with suction, which generally works for small distances. The researchers noted that 1 millimeter is the effective strike range for seahorse.

The findings were published in the journal Nature Communications.