Rockport Texas - The History, Legends & Lore 1st Printing | Page 75

SEA HORSE (sp. Hippocampus erectus & zosterae) They’re another one of those animals that are very sensitive to their environment, so their number have been declining since the Industrial Revolution. The Lined & Dwarf Seahorses are native to our waters. LORE: The Seahorse’s eyes move indepent of each other. Lined Seahorse (sp. H. zosterae) Dwarf Seahorse (sp. H. erectus) SAND DOLLAR (sp. Mellita quinquiesperforata) Also called the Keyhole Sand Dollar or Keyhole Urchin, and it’s native to the Gulf of Mexico. The Sand Dollar likes shallow seawater, where it can burrow down into the sand. It feeds by carrying food to its mouth, at the center of its bottom, via hundreds of ‘tube feet’ called ‘podia’. These also provide some slow locomotion. LORE: There is no external feature that distinguishes the Males from the Females. STAR FISH (sp. var.) LORE: Star Fish can be found throughout all of the World’s Oceans. There are more than 2,000 species of Star Fish, also called the Sea Star, and most of them have 5 arms - some have more. They eat Mollusks, and they do so by pushing their stomachs out of their mouths and encasing their prey in it - a kind of external digestion. The Star Fish ranges in size, from less than an inch to 3 feet in diameter. 74