1. Suction Feeding:
- Seahorses are ambush predators that rely on camouflage and patience to hunt for prey.
- They have a modified snout that forms a long, tubular mouth with a small opening at the end.
- When a seahorse sees a potential prey (usually small crustaceans, such as mysids or shrimp), it positions itself close to the target.
2. Target Fixation:
- Seahorses have excellent vision, and once they lock onto a prey, they keep their eyes fixed on it with great precision.
3. Rapid Suction:
- When the seahorse is ready to strike, it quickly extends its snout towards the prey and creates a vacuum by rapidly expanding its mouth cavity.
- This sudden expansion rapidly draws the prey into the seahorse's mouth with force.
4. Gulping and Swallowing:
- Once the prey is trapped within the seahorse's mouth, it is gulped down and swallowed whole.
- Seahorses do not have teeth, so they cannot chew their food. Instead, their digestive system, which includes a specialized stomach and intestines, is responsible for breaking down the prey.
5. Multiple Feeds:
- Seahorses have high metabolisms and tend to eat frequently throughout the day to meet their energy demands.
- They may make multiple feeding attempts in a short time span, often targeting multiple preys before resting.
Japanese seahorses, along with other members of the seahorse family, are skilled predators with their ability to rapidly extend their snouts and suck in prey makes them efficient at capturing small aquatic organisms in their surrounding environment.