is it widely known that male sea horses have babies? i only found out today and everyone is laughing at me!!?

Question

apparantly the only animal where the guy gives birth.... did you learn that at school??

Answer 1

Seahorses reproduce in an unusual way: the boy has the babies the male becomes pregnant.

The female inserts her ovipositor into the male’s brood pouch, where she deposits her eggs, which the male fertilizes. The fertilized eggs then embed in the pouch wall and become enveloped with tissues.

Most seahorse species' pregnancies lasts approximately two to three weeks.

Hatched offspring are independent of their parents. Some spend time developing among the ocean plankton. At times, the male seahorse may try to consume some of the previously released offspring. Other species (H. zosterae) immediately begin life as sea-floor inhabitants (benthos).

Seahorses are generally monogamous, though several species (H. abdominalis among them) are highly gregarious. In monogamous pairs, the male and female will greet one another with courtship displays in the morning and sometimes in the evening to reinforce their pair bond. They spend the rest of the day separate from each other hunting for food.

Answer 2

People who watch the Discovery Channel or go to aquariums will know that the male seahorse incubates the eggs until they hatch. Most biology classes also cover this.
On the other hand, everybody had to learn this at some point, I'm sure there are bits of trivia that you know and your friends don't. Don't worry about it.
Well, don't worry unless you are a science teacher or you work at an aquarium - then you probably should have known this.

Answer 3

Well ...you're kind of correct. Male sea horses do not conceive the babies alone. A female seahorse provides the eggs, but the males do carry the embryos after conception and provide nurture before the babies are released. It is unusual in the animal kingdom.

Answer 4

I learned this in Elementary School science over 35 years ago. This was also a common topic on TV nature shows in the past, so I would have thought everyone knew this. Something like this has stuck in the mind since then just like knowing the platypus is a mammal, but an exception to the rule because it has a beak and lays eggs. You must have been more interested in passing notes than paying attention to grade school science...lol

Answer 5

yes. thats true, male sea horses give birth to live young. It keeps the females eggs in a pouch until they are ready to come out.

Answer 6

That is not true. Actually, male sea-horses only carry babies until they grow old enough to take care of them selves. Female puts her eggs into male's "bag", and then HE cares for the little eggs. Male see-horses are one of the best fathers on our planet.

Answer 7

LOL I just learned thre was 1 male species that gave birth at my childrens school . Everyone around me acting like it was common knowledge also. I was baffled also.

Answer 8

ya I knew that... but there are other instances where the male is the parenting one

it is said that who ever invests more time in the offspring is the more selective sex

with birds a lot of times the male is the selectee and care giver

Answer 9

It technically doesn't give birth, otherwise it would be the female. the female lays her eggs into teh males birthing pouch and he incubates them until they are htched and then he opens the birthing pouch to let them out.

Answer 10

It's probably better known since it was mentioned in Lemony Snicket's book "The End."