"Sing unto the Lord, all the earth.... Declare His glory among the heathen; His marvelous works among all nations. For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised." 1 Chron. 16:23-25.
The oceans contain strange creatures, many of them frightening, strange and unusual. The sea horse is one of these. It is a fish that doesn't look or act like a fish. It is quite common along the coasts of North and South America, as well as in Hawaii, Tahiti and others of the South Sea Islands. Among the 40 species there are some as long as two feet, but the more common are only about three inches long. Most are dark gray or black, but some are a pretty pink, red, yellow, blue or white. All are able to change their color to that of their surroundings if they wish.
The sea horse is well named since its head and the top of its body look surprisingly like a miniature horse. Instead of scales it is covered with rough, bony plates. Its curved tail enables it to anchor onto sea grass or, hooked to another sea horse, to have a playful tug-of-war contest. Each eye pivots separately, and it can look toward the surface with one eye while searching underwater with the other.
The sea horse is always upright—head up and tail down. In this position it keeps itself balanced and moves by means of a fan-like fin on its back. This fin looks similar to the small propeller that whirls on the tail of a helicopter and enables it to swim forward, backward, up or down.
Another unusual feature about this ocean resident is the manner in which its babies are born. When the female is about to lay her eggs, she swims to her male companion and they engage in a lively dance, gracefully circling around each other. Then she transfers about 300 eggs into a pouch on his body. He incubates these for a month or more, until they hatch. Then, held in bubbles containing 50 to 100 eggs each, he releases them out into the water. As the bubbles burst, the tiny, transparent, comma-size babies separate, and each one begins a life on its own.
God has been pleased to make the sea horse very different from its neighbors, not only in appearance, but also in its peaceful habits. It has no enemies because its hard, bony plates make it unappetizing no matter how hungry they are. Its own diet is limited to tiny particles of food passing through the water. It does not attack other small fish.
The wonderful works of the Lord surely deserve the highest praise, as quoted in our opening verse, and should encourage every boy and girl to seek Him. The psalmist said: "The Lord is [near] unto all them that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in truth." Psa. 145:18. If you have not done this yet, call on Him today. He will hear and answer you.