Lined Seahorse Classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phyla: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Syngnathiformes
Family: Syngnathidae
Genus: Hippocampus
Species: erectus
Phyla: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Syngnathiformes
Family: Syngnathidae
Genus: Hippocampus
Species: erectus
Intro to Natural Selection
Natural selection is the gradual process in which organisms with the favorable characteristics best suited to help them survive and reproduce gets passed down to future generations ("survival of the fittest"); changing the genetic make up of a population. This idea of natural selection was first discovered by a man named Charles Darwin. This man had provided an explanation about how species evolved over time. Darwin first discovered natural selection when he sailed to the Galapagos Islands where he observed that the native finches on each islands differed from one another. The finch species varied island to island were adapted to different environments. Taking all of the findings into consideration, Darwin concluded that the characteristics that benefit organisms when it comes to survival are passed down so that more of their species can survive.
There are three types of natural
selections:
Natural Selection of Seahorses
The seahorses that we commonly sea today are the product of natural selection. Seahorses were not always erect with a curled tail. They are the descendant of pipefish; organisms whose body looks like a stretched out seahorse. It is believed that seahorses evolved from pipefish because of the longer neck advantage as shown in the video below. Both seahorses and pipefish eat small shrimps. When it comes to feeding, pipefish have much shorter neck that acts as a disadvantage because it requires them to be really close to their prey before they strike and use their suction power to consume the food. Seahorses, on the otehr hand have an advantage because with an upright body, they have a longer neck that they can stretch so that they are able to have distance between the prey and themself. In addition, a seahorses curled tail is also another advantage because it allows them to cling to plants and be grounded.