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Yes. The male seahorse is the only male in the entire animal kingdom to have a true pregnancy.
Seahorses are live-bearers, and although the male carries the developing embryos in his pouch, it is the female that produces the eggs, and the male provides the sperm that fertilizes the eggs, so despite brooding the young he remains completely male.
It is the female that provides the nutrition for the young via the egg yolk. The male provides calcium thought to be important in skeletal development and their oxygen via tissue lining inside the pouch wall.
During his term, the male also regulates the chemical composition of the pouch, so that by the end of the term the environment is similar to the constitution of the seawater outside.
Seahorses are born as tiny versions of the adults. Their first instinct is to rise to the water’s surface and fill their swim bladders, and from the moment of birth onwards, they are on their own; the parents provide no further care for them
Related Topics:
Breeding
General
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