Seahorses are the only fish that consistently swim in a “heads up” position, but they swim very slowly, despite the back fin that can beat up to 50 times a second. Giant Pacific seahorses are now on view at the Santa Barbara Sea Center at Stearns Wharf.
Seahorses are the only fish that consistently swim in a “heads up” position, but they swim very slowly, despite the back fin that can beat up to 50 times a second. Giant Pacific seahorses are now on view at the Santa Barbara Sea Center at Stearns Wharf. Credit: Sea Center photo

What did ancient people first think upon finding dead seahorses washed up on shore? Were they baby dragons? Enchanted ponies? Cousins of mythological mashups like mermaids or satyrs?

The Greeks believed them to be offspring of stallions that pulled the sea-god Poseidon’s chariot, combining “hippos” (horse) and kampos (sea monster) to name them “hippocampus.”

However, seahorses are living, breathing (through gills) evolutionary oddities that look equine on top and serpentine on the bottom.

Nine giant Pacific seahorses, California’s only native species, are now back on view as part of the “Dive In” exhibit at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Sea Center at Stearns Wharf. That’s good news.

In the wild, however, the species is being found farther north than ever before, even in the Santa Barbara Channel. That’s not good, according to Sea Center aquarist Maxwell Rudlic.

“Their native range is from Baja to San Diego in water between 60 and 71 degrees,” he said. “They’re rarely sighted in here, but are now consistently seen in Long Beach. Having them there, and more frequently, means the ocean is warmer.”

In 2017, giant Pacific seahorses were listed as “vulnerable” on the International Union of Concerned Scientists’ Red List, and more than one-third of the 40-plus known seahorse species are at some risk level for extinction. However, rising ocean temperatures are not the only threats they face.

Scattered around the world in temperate and tropical waters, they are also casualties of human activities, including habitat loss, pollution, fisheries, development, and illegal use in traditional medicines.

Aquarist Maxwell Rudlic, left, and Director Richard Smalldon from Santa Barbara’s Sea Center, which is a partner in conservation collaborations for several local species, including giant Pacific seahorses, white abalone and, soon, sunflower sea stars.
Aquarist Maxwell Rudlic, left, and Director Richard Smalldon from Santa Barbara’s Sea Center, which is a partner in conservation collaborations for several local species, including giant Pacific seahorses, white abalone and, soon, sunflower sea stars. Credit: Julia McHugh / Noozhawk photo

That’s hard to fathom, given that seahorse fossils have been found dating back more than 13 million years.

SoCal Seahorse Collaboration

The Sea Center collaborates with a conservation program through which three institutions breed giant Pacific seahorses: the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro, the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach and the Birch Aquarium at Scripps in San Diego.

“We first got seahorses in 2019, and their lifespan is only up to five years,” Sea Center Director Richard Smalldon said. “Breeding shut down during COVID, so we didn’t have them for a couple of years. Then it took time to get everything back in place.”

The Sea Center’s giant Pacific seahorses are hand-fed plankton using large, long tweezers. Their toothless jaws are fused open at the end of elongated snouts. Lacking a stomach, food moves through their bodies so quickly that they must eat almost constantly.
The Sea Center’s giant Pacific seahorses are hand-fed plankton using large, long tweezers. Their toothless jaws are fused open at the end of elongated snouts. Lacking a stomach, food moves through their bodies so quickly that they must eat almost constantly. Credit: Julia McHugh / Noozhawk photo

Giant Pacific seahorses are difficult and labor-intensive to breed, he added. The Cabrillo Aquarium has developed protocols and secured funding for a specialized nursery facility and can grow plankton to feed the offspring.

“We’re all in Southern California, so we stay in touch. They recognize that we are smaller, but we help out when we can. Then Cabrillo got lucky, so we got lucky,” he said, referring to a new breeding pair of seahorses that started to produce offspring, including the Sea Center’s nine seahorses, in 2025.

“These two are unusual in that they are monogamous. Usually, seahorses breed with whomever, but this pair has been very successful,” Smalldon said.

There are no breeding plans at the Sea Center, but he reports that staff have seen mating displays. What if their seahorses become pregnant?

“They are still young, so their offspring may not survive. If they did, we would work with our colleagues at Cabrillo to raise them,” Smalldon said. “We’d then be able to share surplus animals with other aquariums and continue to build the network of facilities caring for these animals.”

Birthing a ‘Fry’ of Seahorses

Seahorses, pipefish and sea dragons, members of the family Syngnathidae, are the only known animals in which the male gets pregnant and gives birth.

Seahorses perform elaborate, twisting courtship dances that can span hours or go on for multiple days. The males can be identified by the prominent, rounded brood patches below their abdomens.

“The male displays his stomach as if to say, ‘I’m ready,’” said Rudlic, who started as a Sea Center volunteer while studying marine science at Santa Barbara City College. He completed his bachelor’s degree at California State University-Monterey Bay, and came on staff in 2020.

“A female seahorse can produce between 1,000 and 2,000 eggs at a time into the male’s brood pouch, where they are fertilized, and incubation begins,” he said. “Survival in the wild is less than 1%, which is why they have to create so many eggs.”

Visitors to the Santa Barbara Sea Center at Stearns Wharf can now view nine giant Pacific seahorses on view in the “Dive In” exhibit on the second floor.
Visitors to the Santa Barbara Sea Center at Stearns Wharf can now view nine giant Pacific seahorses on view in the “Dive In” exhibit on the second floor. Credit: Sea Center photo

After several weeks, the males undergo labor-like contractions and expel hundreds to more than 1,500 fully developed, independent young, called fry, into the water.

Sea Center Helps Critically Endangered California Species

While giant Pacific seahorses are listed as vulnerable to extinction, the Sea Center also supports the imperiled native white abalone and soon will exhibit another local ocean species on the brink of extinction.

An adult pair of white abalone have been on view since 2005 and bred since 2014 as part of the UC San Diego White Abalone Recovery Consortium.

White abalone were the first ocean invertebrate added to the endangered species list, entering as critically endangered in 2001 because of historic overfishing, which reduced 99% of the wild population.

“Several cohorts of our juveniles from our pair have been sent to other facilities,” Smalldon said. “Others are among thousands that have been ‘outplanted’ back into the ocean.”

He announced the upcoming arrival of another critically endangered species, the sunflower sea star. They are colorful and big, with up to 24 limbs spanning 3 feet in diameter.

In 2013, a wasting disease caused populations to crash by more than 90%, triggering a population explosion of sea urchins. Kelp forests are now being devoured by urchins unchecked from Baja, throughout California, to the Aleutian Islands.

“We are glad to host juvenile sunflower sea stars as they grow, and to get out the word about the efforts to re-establish this important species after being wiped out,” he said. 

The Sea Center partners with Sunflower Star Laboratories in Moss Landing and Friday Harbor Laboratories in Washington, which are breeding sunflower sea stars. No breeding will happen here because of space constraints.

“We hope to connect people with nature and have them realize how important the ocean is for the health of the planet,” he said. “We want to inspire them to learn about ocean issues and animals, and be informed to make good choices.”

The Sea Center has a special fund to support its seahorse and other conservation programs. Find out more at sbnature.org/donate.