~BEAUTIFUL SEA HORSES ~

Male seahorses are the only species in the animal kingdom where males give birth to their offspring.

They carry their young in a pouch on their tail, and when the fry are ready to be born, the male expels them with muscular contractions.

Some species of seahorses can give birth to as many as 2,000 babies at a time.

The reason why males give birth instead of females is because seahorse babies are often eaten by prey, and having the male give birth allows the female to create more eggs to be fertilized without having to wait to give birth herself.

New research suggests that oxytocin-family hormones trigger the cascade of seahorse behaviors that lead to birth.

More study is needed to test whether the fathers consciously make the contractions happen or if the skeletal muscles somehow override their normal rules and contract on their own.