When Meagan Abele and Clayton Manning were off the coast of Little Beach in Nelson Bay, NSW, Australia, they noticed a pregnant male H. Whitei seahorse. They were there with a conservation group called the Project Seahorse in order to conduct some research and they were able to catch the delivery of the baby via their GoPro. The footage is really fascinating!
H. whitei, also known as the White‘s seahorse, is a species of seahorse found in the shallow waters of the Indo–Pacific region. It is a small species, typically growing to a length of around 2.5 inches, and is one of the few species of seahorse where the male carries the young. This species has a bright yellow body with white spots, and a long, prehensile tail used to anchor itself to seaweed and coral. It feeds on small crustaceans and plankton, and is a popular species in the aquarium trade.
While the male seahorses carry the baby rather than the females, though they don’t make the eggs themselves. The female sets her eggs inside her male’s pouch and he fertilizes the eggs. This pouch regulates temperature, blood flow, and water salinity for the delivery of the baby. Seahorses can deliver from five to more than 1,000 babies at a time, depending on their type.
Watch the rare video footage below and please leave us a Facebook comment to let us know what you thought!
Don’t forget to hit the SHARE BUTTON to share this video on Facebook with your friends and family.
