Meagan and Clayton are two people who are conducting a research project in Australia. They saw something very interesting while they were scuba diving. They saw a pregnant male seahorse that was giving birth.
This is significant because it is rare to see seahorses give birth in the wild. As strange as it may sound, the male seahorse is the one who carries the offspring and gives birth.
The female seahorse makes the eggs. When the male and female mate, the female deposits her eggs inside of the seahorse’s pouch. The eggs are fertilized by the male inside of his pouch. This pouch regulates water salinity, blood flow and temperature.
The seahorse can deliver anywhere from five to 1,000 babies at one time. The seahorse species is one of the factors that affect how many babies the seahorse will deliver.
Seahorses thrive in the Australian waters. Researchers are determined to find out what factors affect the survival of seahorses. Incidental capture, targeted fishing and habitat degradation are some of the factors that have lead to the decline in the seahorse population worldwide. The video of the pregnant seahorse giving birth has been posted on YouTube. The video has been viewed over 1.8 million times.