seahorse

Answer: pregnancy. Unlike most animals, it is the male seahorses that give birth to live young. A new study conducted at the University of Sydney and published in Molecular Biology and Evolution, found that the male seahorses not only carry out the pregnancy, they also supply nutrients to the developing embryos, including fats and calcium. The researchers suspect that these nutrients are secreted into the brood pouch where they can be absorbed by developing embryos. According to quote from study author Dr. Whittington, published in the International Business Times, "Seahorse babies get a lot…
"Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please." -Mark Twain I am unimpressed with speculations that have no basis in fact, but if you can show how your claims are factually grounded and arrived at, they're certainly worth a listen to. And if your facts, logic and extrapolations are sound, you might even, as Sarah Jarosz sings, Tell Me True. Of course, if they're a little suspect instead, you can either lead people astray, or alternatively, create some of the best humor and satire ever created. This weekend, I proudly introduce to you a series of nature videos by YouTube user…
At almost every aquarium I have ever visited with a seahorse exhibit, the plaque in front of the tank says the same thing: in seahorses and their relatives, males, not females, carry the babies. It is always interesting to watch the reactions of visitors to this curious fact. Adult men, for instance, sometimes seem unsettled by the thought of male pregnancy, but the reproductive reversal among the fish is often seen as kinda cute ("How sweet. A fishy dad taking care of his kids!"). As shown by a study by Kimberly Paczolt and Adam Jones published this week in Nature, however, there can be a…
tags: Satomi's pygmy seahorse, Indonesian wildlife, Stephen Wong, Takako Uno, image of the day Satomi's pygmy seahorse, endemic to Indonesia, is one of the world's tiniest seahorses. Two adults would fit head-to-head across the face of a penny and their offspring are each about the size of a 12-point apostrophe. Image: Stephen Wong and Takako Uno/National Geographic. At under half an inch tall (13 millimeters), Satomi's pygmy seahorse -- named after dive guide Satomi Onishi -- is a strong contender for the world's smallest seahorse. With their tails stretched out straight, two Satomi's…
I was lucky enough to find myself in Atlanta this weekend and made a trip to the one year old Georgia Aquarium. The animals and exhibits were spectacular. The Georgia Aquarium is one of only four in the world with whale sharks and the only one outside of Asia. The aquarium has the distinct advantage of being brand new, some of the enclosures seemed a bit small and it lacked the ubiquitous dolphin Vaudeville show, but it blows all other aquariums I have been to out of the water.Whale Shark (Rhincodon typus) - Pictures don't do these guys justice. There were three of them, each 15-25 feet.…