How Plate Tectonics Gave Us Seahorses

How did seahorses — one of the ocean’s worst swimmers — spread around the globe? And where did they come from in the first place?

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Produced by Complexly for PBS Digital Studios

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[SquirrelGrrl]

Seahorses are so fascinating in their appearance. They look like some ancient dragon, inked onto a scroll, come to life.

[DaveTexas]

Seahorses hold special status in our house. Our son became fascinated by seahorses when he was a toddler. He had a stuffed seahorse that he slept with, and he started wanting stories, books, and videos about seahorses. He eventually learned everything there was to know about seahorses, and we got to hear all about it! We did not ever hear about plate tectonics and seahorses, though. I’ll have to send him this video! (He’s all grown up now.)

[davidt]

Sea horses are magical. I'm pretty sure everyone remembers when they first learned about them as kids. Their name is perfect for capturing childhood wonder.

[KimberlyGreen]

So, seahorses galloped across the ocean grasslands to migrate, just as land horses used terrestrial ones to do the same.

[timsullivan]

"If not for plate tectonics, seahorses would never have been able to take over the world" - possibly now topping my list of "10 Reasons for the Seahorse's World Domination "
(actually a fascinating, VERY well-presented argument. Thanks)

[greyzone]

Request: Psathyrella aquatica, the only known underwater mushroom

[coconutcore]

The fact that seahorses used the Mediterranean as a shortcut to spread around the world when that sea was still turning into the shape of a seahorse is just…wholesome to me.

(To anyone who might have never noticed this, look at the Mediterranean at 7:21. Turns out it even looked more like a sea horse than it does today at some point.)

[DanNowlan]

"So if it hadn't been for plate tectonics, seahorse wouldn't have been able to take over the world."

*bows before seahorse overlords*

[brendanhoffmann]

When I was a kid my Dad used to have salt water fish tanks. We kept seahorses at one point. They were amazing!

[AnjaP_]

I was not expecting Slovenia to ever feature in one of your videos. Greetings from Ljubljana 😊
PS: Great video, as always

[ketsuekikumori]

Speaking of puzzles. Maybe you guys can make a 3d bone or fossile puzzle that mimics a paleontologist putting together a skeleton.

[jordandino]

Plate Tectonics: *Slowly moving and smashing into each other for millions of years*

One prehistoric pipefish boi: P e r f e c t

[menkomonty]

I can remember going to a Sea-Life Centre and they had a small section devoted to seahorses and they were feeding some tiny seahorses by using what looked like a plastic seed feeder for birds

[mattwaw]

All three of you presenters have such calm and soothing voices. And you have this child-like excitement when you talk about evolution. I love listening to you before bed or while having breakfast. It always calms me down! Thanks for uploading!

[patrickwhite]

“Cool fish dads” and then finger guns hahahahahaha! I loved that

[robynkerran]

When I was younger, I wanted a seahorse more than anything, because I thought they were... big enough to ride! Thanks a lot Aquaman cartoon lol! When I found out the truth, saying I was disappointed is putting it mildly, but that disappeared completely when I got to see real ones at the Aquarium, I've been fascinated with them ever since 💜 Thank you for this presentation!

[elizabethpemberton]

Several years back I was watching something on Nature or Nova that kept posing questions about how did [thing that looks baffling on the surface] happen? The answer was always plate tectonics, which I yelled at the TV every time. It was almost as fun as when Big Bird couldn’t find his dinosaur costume and I got to yell “It’s OK, you ARE a dinosaur!” before whichever Sesame Street resident told him that. I am, at 53, perhaps not the target audience for every program.

[StonedtotheBones]

I very much appreciate the colors in the hypothetical seahorses/proto seahorses. I feel like sometimes color used for hypothetical envisioning of creatures is so monotone

[sussekind]

You would not believe how many people I've talked to in my life, that thought seahorses were mythical creatures, on par with Unicorns, Pixies, and Elves. But "No", I tell them, "they actually do exist." Then sometimes, I get the hairy eyeball, like they're not believing what I'm telling them.
More than once, I've had to break out my cell phone, and hit up Google, so I can prove that I am not crazy.🙄

[MossyMozart]

I once saw an exhibit at the Aquarium of the Pacific at Long Beach, California. I was there shortly after they became the first institution of get leafy seadragons to hatch, so it was being celebrated throughout the entire facility. They were so delicate, beautiful, and smaller than I expected that it was mind-blowing to think of them living in the wild, like delicate hummingbirds are on land.