Seahorse - dad became a mom

Sea Mr. Mom: Did you know that male seahorses give birth to young?

Seahorse, one of the most unusual species of fish, not only does not look like a fish, but also has an unusual way of breeding. His head looks like a pony's head. Instead of scales, his whole body is covered with bone plates and horny thorns. And his tail is like a snake's. Seahorse really doesn't have much in common with fish. On a simple notice its long tail around some sea plants, so that the water current does not carry it away. And when it swims, it moves vertically through the water, with the help of a single feather placed on its back. The mouth of a seahorse ends with a kind of tubular wrench with which it sucks food. Unlike all other species of fish, it has a clearly defined neck and a movable head that resembles the head of a horse and which makes an almost right angle with the body of the horse.

In this species of fish, the male is the one who carries and "gives birth" to the young - namely, females lay eggs in its "bag" on the front of the body (similar to the "bag" that a kangaroo has) during mating, and then, after a period of their development, from the "daddy's" bag give birth to live cubs. Females do not have any part in the whole process after laying eggs, so the male seahorse is actually the "mother" of its young.
But everything is preceded by dance. During the multi-day mating ritual, a pair of seahorses swim for hours in close contact, sometimes with snug muzzles and intertwined tails. Seahorses eat all the time. They feed on plankton or other very small marine animals such as fish. Seahorses can move one eye independently of the other so that they can follow the movements of smaller marine animals in their environment without revealing their presence. When they determine that their prey is available to them, they quickly grab it or simply suck it from a distance of 3 centimeters. The seahorse distracts its enemies with its long leather threads and the protective color with which it imitates the sea plants among which it lives.

The seahorse is usually found on the seabed overgrown with seagrass, in warm shallow waters. However, some species prefer muddy and sandy areas, while others are found on corals, sponges and mangrove roots. In any case, we come across seahorses near sea currents, where they are provided with a sufficient amount of their main food - plankton. To keep them from being swept away by currents, they wrap their long tails around the nearest plant. The tails are especially suitable for catching.

Please watch this video. This is beautiful.

Dad became a mom

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