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Earth Matters : Unlike any other vertebrate: Exploring the strangeness of seahorses

By David Spector

Most vertebrates — the large group of animals that includes humans — have many features in common, but some oddball groups have lost some of those characteristics. For example, snakes have lost their limbs, but they retain most of the other features typical of the larger group. Some of the strangest of these animals, having lost or altered many of the usual vertebrate characteristics, are seahorses. Seahorses are named for their horse-like head shape, one of many distinctive traits, a few of which I compare with those of other vertebrates.