Seahorse
Seahorses are a type of fish that can be found in tropical, subtropical, and reef waters that are in the Indian, Atlantic, and Pacific oceans. One of the most unusual things about seahorses is that the males actually become pregnant. These are the only species on earth in which this happens.
Seahorses feed on larval fishes and amphipods, such as small shrimp-like crustaceans called mysids (”opossum shrimp”), sucking up their prey with their small mouths. Many of these amphipods feed on red algae that thrives in the shade of the kelp forests where sea dragons live.
The male becomes pregnant when “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.” New research indicates the male releases sperm into the surrounding sea water during fertilization, and not directly into the pouch as was previously thought. 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 immediately begin life as sea-floor inhabitants.
Seahorses are generally monogamous, though several species 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.