Introduction to hippocampus
Hippocampus (Latin name: Hippocampus) is the general name of several small warm marine fishes in Syngnathidae. It is a small marine animal with a body length of 5-30 cm. Named after the head bends at right angles to the body, the head is horsehead-shaped, at an angle to the body shape, with a long tubular snout, a small mouth and dorsal fins, all of which are composed of fins. The eyes can move independently. Hippocampus moves slowly, but it can effectively capture fast-moving and hidden copepods, which are distributed in the Atlantic Ocean, Europe, Pacific Ocean and Australia.
morphological character
The head of the hippocampus is flat, with two nostrils on each side of the head. The head is bent at right angles to the body, and the fish is thick and flat, completely enclosed in the bone ring. The tip of the mouth is tubular, so it can't be opened and closed. It can only suck small animals in the water as food, and its eyes can rotate up and down, left and right, back and forth respectively. The chest and abdomen are prominent, and the trunk is composed of 10- 12 bone ring, with a general body length of about 15-30 cm. The tail is slender and has four corners, and the tail tip can be curled and often curled; The head is bent, forming a large obtuse angle or right angle with the trunk, with a prominent crown at the top and a short tip at the crown end; Kiss is tubular; Small mouth, end position; Small branchial foramen; The whole body is completely wrapped by membranous bone, the dorsal fin is spineless, and there are no ventral fins and caudal fins. Dorsal fin is located between trunk and tail; Short gluteal fin; Thoracic fin developed; No caudal fin; Its fins are not easy to see with the naked eye. But with high-speed photography and careful observation, you can see moving thorns. These spines can move back and forth 70 times in one second. According to the wave from one end of the dorsal fin to the other, the hippocampus can ride this wave freely back and forth or up and down. The male fish has a pouch on the ventral side of the tail, in which the eggs hatch and can reproduce for 2-3 generations a year.
habitat
In natural waters, seahorses usually like to live in the slow current of coral reefs. Because they are not good at swimming, they often outline coral branches and seaweed leaves tightly with tails suitable for grasping to fix their bodies so as not to be washed away by rapids. Most species of sea dragons live at the junction of estuaries and the sea, so they can adapt to different concentrations of seawater and even survive in fresh water. Seahorses and sea dragons have small mouths and are only suitable for eating live bait, while those who are not good at swimming can't prey quickly. [ 1]
Living habits
activity
Because of its mimicry adaptability, hippocampus has a special habit, and it likes to live in the subtidal waters where algae or seaweed breed. Sex is lazy, often winding its curly tail around the stems and branches of seaweed, and sometimes hanging upside down on floating seaweed or other objects, drifting with the flow. Even if you temporarily leave the entanglement because of eating or other reasons, after swimming for a certain distance, you find other objects attached to it. The swimming posture of hippocampus is very beautiful. The fish stands upright in the water, undulates at high frequency (65,438+00 times per second) and swims slowly (only up to 65,438+0-3 meters per minute). The activity of hippocampus is usually in the daytime (morning and afternoon), but it is still at night. When the water quality of hippocampus deteriorates, oxygen is insufficient, or it is attacked by the enemy, it often makes a gurgling sound due to the contraction of pharyngeal muscles, which gives noise to farmers. Help? Signal, but there will be noise when eating bait on the water, so distinguish it. [2]
Looking for food
In fish, the hippocampus has a unique curved neck, which looks like a horse with a long nose and mouth. The overall shape of seahorses, coupled with the absence of caudal fins, makes them the slowest swimming animals on earth. They can't swim fast, usually like seaweed, tied to the bottom of the sea with curly tails.
Because all marine life likes to eat copepods, they are extremely sensitive to the fluctuation of water flow pattern caused by the approach of carnivores. Once copepods sense that the enemy is approaching, they can swim 500 times their own length every second. In contrast, the cheetah, which is famous for its running speed, travels at a speed of only 30 times its length per second.
But the hippocampus. Hippocampus must use its bow-shaped neck as a spring and twist its head forward to catch prey, which also limits its effective distance to catch food, which is only equivalent to the length of its neck, that is, 0. 1 cm. However, the hippocampus can use the special shape of the head to quietly approach the prey and then capture it. The probability of success is over 90%. The mouth of hippocampus is located at the end of long nose and mouth. When moving towards the prey, the waterline near the nose and mouth hardly moves, so it can sneak up on each other and successfully hunt. [3]
Eating habits
Hippocampus swallows food through the extension of gill cover and kiss, and the size of bait does not exceed the diameter of kiss. It has certain selectivity to the kind and freshness of bait. The feeding sight distance of hippocampus is only about 1 m, so the bait should be placed in the place where it often gathers. Hippocampus in natural sea area mainly feeds on small crustaceans, including barnacle larvae and tendrils of copepods, larvae and adults of shrimps, fireflies, mysids and hooked shrimps. Under the condition of artificial feeding, the effect of feeding mysis and sakura shrimp is the best, followed by Boda and Acropoda. Freshwater cladocera can also be eaten, but attention should be paid to avoid rapid death in seawater and pollution of water quality.
The food intake of hippocampus is closely related to water temperature and water quality. In a suitable temperature range, the higher the water temperature, the greater the food intake and the faster the digestion. When the water quality is poor, the food intake decreases or even stops. Under normal circumstances, the daily food intake of hippocampus accounts for about 10% of body weight, and the hippocampus has a large one-time food intake and strong hunger tolerance. The starvation tolerance time from newborn seedlings to adults can reach 4- 132 days.
Exercise method
The structure and function of hippocampus tail are very different from other fish. At rest, the hippocampus uses the curling ability of its tail to wrap it around the stems and branches of seaweed. Therefore, most seahorses inhabit deep-sea algae. Swimming posture is also very special. Head up, body slightly tilted upright in the water, completely relying on dorsal fin and pectoral fin movement. The fan-shaped dorsal fin plays the role of wave propulsion.
Breeding mode
The male and female identification of seahorse and sea dragon is very simple, that is, the male fish has abdominal sac (commonly known as baby bag) and the female fish has no abdominal sac.
It is true that male seahorses never play with their children, but they are superior to human fathers in another way? Give birth to offspring. Hippocampus is the only animal on earth that bears offspring by males.
There are fertile sacs in the abdomen, front or side of male hippocampus. During mating, the female hippocampus releases the eggs into the brood sac, and the male is responsible for fertilizing these eggs. The male seahorse will leave the fertilized egg in the brood sac until it develops and forms, and then put it into the sea. [4]
Seahorses are not hermaphroditic, but males hatch. May-August is the breeding season of hippocampus every year. In the meantime, mother hippocampus laid her eggs in the pouch of father hippocampus. After 50-60 days, the young fish will be born from father Haima's pouch, so it is said that father Haima is responsible for parenting. Although the father doesn't really have children, he still has to complete the incubation. Dad's pouch only acts as an incubator, and the eggs still come from mom. August-September is the peak season, and fishermen often fish with nets at this time.
distribution range
China:
Crown hippocampus: Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea. Qinhuangdao coast, Tanggu offshore, Yellow River Delta. Hippocampus: East China Sea, South China Sea, Taiwan Province Province. Fuding offshore, Penghu offshore, Kaohsiung offshore, Lingshui offshore Japan hippocampus: South China Sea, East China Sea, Yellow Sea, Bohai Sea. Beihai, Penghu, Chenda Island, Xiamen, Qingdao, Pingtan Island, Yangjiang, Shanwei, Qinhuangdao, Dalian, Yantai, Pingtung, Yingkou, Sanya, Lingshui and Taizhou coastal areas. Manage hippocampus: Bohai Sea, East China Sea, South China Sea and Taiwan Province Province. Lingshui offshore, Shanwei offshore, Xiamen offshore, Lingshui estuary and Lan Yu offshore. Kirschner seahorse: Shantou offshore, Kaohsiung offshore and Qionghai offshore. Three-spotted seahorses: off Lingshui, off Dongshan, off Shanwei, off Xiamen and off Kaohsiung. Hebei, Tianjin, Liaoning, Shandong, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Fujian, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Taiwan Province Province and Hainan. [5]
World:
Crown seahorse: Japanese thorn seahorse: Japan, Singapore, Red Sea. Japanese seahorse: Japan, Korea. Western Pacific: The distribution of Japan, China, Viet Nam, Thailand and Cambodia remains to be confirmed. China, Indian, Indonesian, Japanese, Pakistani, Philippine, China, Taiwan Province, Chinese mainland, United Republic of Tanzania and Viet Nam. Hippocampus management: Japan, Indian Ocean, Singapore, Philippines, Hawaiian Islands, Australia and East Africa, Australia (Northern Territory, Queensland), Fiji, French Polynesia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Micronesia (Federated States of), New Caledonia, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Taiwan Province Province, Thailand, Tonga. Three-spotted seahorses: Singapore, the coast of Nanyang Islands, the western Indian Ocean, the eastern Indian Ocean, the northwest Pacific Ocean, the central and western regions, Australia, China, Egypt, French Polynesia, Guam, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mauritius, Micronesia, Mozambique, New Caledonia, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, reunion island, Western Samoa and Seychelles. [5] Hippocampus spinosa: mainly produced in Fujian Putian, Tongan, Zhao 'an, Guangdong coastal areas and Hainan Island, Shandong Rizhao, Jiaonan, Qingdao, Yantai, Liaoning Dalian, Zhuanghe, Dandong, Hebei Laoting, Huanghua, Tangshan, Qinhuangdao and other coastal areas.
Main value
Hippocampus is a valuable Chinese medicine with high economic value, which has the medicinal functions of strengthening the body, tonifying kidney and strengthening yang, relaxing muscles and tendons, relieving inflammation and pain, calming the nerves, relieving cough and asthma. Especially for the treatment of nervous system diseases. It has been favored by people since ancient times, and men have a special liking for it. Hippocampus is not only mainly used to make various synthetic drugs, but also can be taken directly to strengthen the body and treat diseases.
Protection level
38 species are listed in IUCN 20 12, ver 3. 1 Red List of Endangered Species.
Endangered (EN) 1 species, vulnerable (vu)1species, low-risk (LC) 1 species, and data missing (DD) in 26 species. [6]
The efficacy of hippocampus
Hippocampus is a less commonly used Chinese medicine. Compendium of Materia Medica was first published. There are three kinds of commodities: hippocampus, hippocampus and sea maggots.
Alias: water horse, dragonfly.
Source: A dry body with viscera removed from the family Syngnathidae, such as hippocampus or spotted hippocampus. Seafood, the existing artificial culture.
Origin: mainly produced in coastal areas of Guangdong, and also produced in coastal areas such as Fujian, Taiwan Province, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hebei and Liaoning.
Character identification: 1, the hippocampus is rectangular, curved, 8 ~ 30 cm long, 2 ~ 3 cm wide and 0.8 ~ 1.5 cm thick. The head is slightly like a horse's head, hence the name hippocampus. It has a long tubular mouth with a coronoid process and an opposite spinous process on its head, and there are five short processes at the top of the coronoid process. The back, chest and abdomen are flat and square, with 1 1 transverse connection and 7 longitudinal ridges. The tail is rectangular and curved like a trunk, with 39 ~ 40 transverse rings and 4 longitudinal ridges. The transverse chain and ridge also form a long square, and the intersection point is blunt or spiny. The intersection below the front end of the chest, abdomen and tail is spinous and pointed. There are a pair of pectoral fins behind the head and before the first ring. There is a dorsal fin behind the ninth link of the back, and a short anal fin at the junction of abdomen and tail. The male hippocampus has a pouch at the tail of 1 ~ 9, but the female does not have this organ. They are all cartilaginous materials, forming a hard crustacean body without scales. Yellow-white, taupe or light brown, slightly shiny. Light weight, tough, not easy to break. The smell is slightly fishy and salty.
2. The shape of the spinous hippocampus is similar to that of the hippocampus, but the shape of the heteromorphous spinous hippocampus is smaller than that of the heteromorphous hippocampus, which is generally about 15 cm long and the maximum length is no more than 24 cm. At the intersection of all the ring ridges, there are long and sharp spinous processes except a short section at the end. Body ring 1 1, tail ring 35 ~ 36. I am similar to the hippocampus.
3. Sea maggots are young seahorses, which are less than 8 cm long and have the same shape as seahorses. The goods are collectively called sea maggots regardless of species and genera. The same medicinal use.
Hippocampus and spiny hippocampus are both brought up with their bodies, and there is no damage. Yellow and white are better.
Efficacy and function: tonifying kidney and strengthening yang, promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis. Its function is powerful and nourishing, and its function is roughly the same as that of sea dragon.
Processing: raw use.
Sexual taste: sweet and warm.
Meridian tropism: entering the kidney meridian.
Function: tonify kidney, strengthen yang and eliminate dysentery.
Indications: impotence due to kidney deficiency, dystocia, hysteria, sore and toxic swelling and pain.
Clinical application: 1. For kidney yang weakness, frequent micturition at night, or weak leucorrhea of women, Haima Decoction can be used alone, or together with fish fat gum and Lycium barbarum.
2. Cure furuncle, especially furuncle caused by children's summer furuncle, impetigo and other low resistance, which can be controlled by antibiotics at this time, but it often recurs. We should start by strengthening the body's resistance. We can use hippocampus 4.5 ~ 6g, add semi-fat lean meat to cook soup, and even drink soup with dregs. Take it 2 ~ 3 times, and you will see obvious improvement.
Caution: it is not suitable for those with yin deficiency and internal heat, exogenous pathogenic factors and spleen and stomach weakness.
Dosage: 4.5 ~ 12g
Examples of prescriptions: Haima decoction: Haima 12g, Lycium barbarum 12g, fish fat gum 12g (dissolved), and Chinese date 30g, decocted in water.
Note: In addition to the above two kinds of seahorses, there are three kinds of seahorses and large seahorses of the same family, which are similar in shape to those of Shashevsky. Such as the three-spotted hippocampus, the rostral canal is shorter than the head length of 1/2. The edges of the back ring of the body ring 1, 4, 7, 1 1 and the tail ring 1, 5, 9, 13, 17 are convex ridges. The dorsal spine is also larger than other species, and there is a big black spot at the base of mucro connected with 1, 4 and 7 on the dorsal side of the body, hence the name "three-spotted hippocampus". In the hippocampus, the snout tube is exactly equal to the length of the posterior part of the orbit. The thorns on the head, body ring and tail ring are not obvious. Used as a hippocampus.