Quick & curious · Nature

Male seahorses get pregnant.

The female deposits eggs in his brood pouch. Later, the male releases fully developed young.

A pregnant male seahorse with a swollen brood pouch — Photo: Sylke Rohrlach from Sydney · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Original

1,500eggsfit in the brood pouch

The story behind it

In seahorses, the males get pregnant.

The female deposits up to 1,500 eggs in the male's brood pouch. He carries them for 9 to 45 days, then releases fully formed, tiny seahorses into the water.