Why is Seahorse Dad called "the best husband in the animal world"?

Every spring, many animals start preparing for reproduction. Among these animals, seahorses are very special because the baby seahorses are born by the father seahorse. On the belly of the father seahorse, there is a brood pouch similar to that of a mother kangaroo. When the breeding season comes, the mother seahorse lays eggs in the brood pouch, where the eggs are fertilized and develop until they eventually grow into baby seahorses. During this period, the father seahorse's belly will also swell up little by little.

In nature, there are many animals that love their wives and children, but there is only one good husband like the seahorse father. Why is the reproduction method of seahorses so different? There is no universally accepted explanation for this, but a reasonable guess is that this reproduction method allows them to have more offspring. In the ocean, although seahorses look stiff and strong, they are actually in the middle and lower reaches of the food chain. Therefore, in order to ensure the continuation of the race, they need to produce as many offspring as possible, which means they need to produce as many sperm and eggs as possible.

Especially eggs. Female animals need to invest a lot of energy to produce eggs. If they have to hatch fertilized eggs and even raise offspring after producing eggs, it would be too tiring for animal mothers. Therefore, seahorses choose a different reproductive strategy - females are only responsible for producing eggs, and the rest is left to males. Studies have found that seahorse mothers can ovulate multiple times during the breeding season, and seahorse fathers can also give birth to babies multiple times. It is in this way that the seahorse family has been well continued.

The picture comes from Tuchong.com

In fact, in nature, there are many examples of fathers helping mothers take care of their children, or even fathers taking care of their children alone. Especially among fish, up to 50% of all fish that can raise offspring are raised by single fathers, such as mice and fish. Although there are not many such examples among mammals, birds, and amphibians, they do exist.

In fact, whether it is single-parent care or dual-parent care, these are strategies chosen by animals in order to adapt to the environment during evolution, and the ultimate goal is to enable themselves to better reproduce offspring.

This article is a work supported by Science Popularization China Starry Sky Project

Author: Shan Shaojie

Reviewer: Huang Chengming (Researcher, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

Produced by: China Association for Science and Technology Department of Science Popularization

Producer: China Science and Technology Press Co., Ltd., Beijing Zhongke Xinghe Culture Media Co., Ltd.