John Bell, age 13, of Kalispell, Mont., for his question:

HOW LARGE IS A SEA HORSE?

A sea horse is a fish that has a head shaped somewhat like that of a horse. There are about 50 different kinds living in various tropical and temperate waters of the world. The dwarf sea horse of Florida is only two inches long but other adults can grow to be as large as 12 inches long.

Covered with bony plates, the sea horse has a dorsal fin on its back that moves like a fan. Its snout has a toothless mouth that is used to suck in tiny living animals.

A female sea horse will lay about 200 eggs at a time. She puts them in a pouch in the male's body just above his tail. Then after about 45 days the male breaks open the pouch and out swim 200 baby sea horses, each about a quarter of an inch long.

Dried sea horse bodies are used for ornaments. In ancient China they were ground into powder and used as medicine.