Reproduction The pouches on the male seahorses’ belly separate male and female seahorses. Male seahorses, unlike most other organisms incubate eggs instead of females. Each female will lay about 200 eggs inside the male’s pouch, where the male’s sperm reach the egg. In two to three weeks, the eggs hatch as little seahorses out of the male’s pouch, and they swim free. Unlike marsupials, seahorses do not nurse their young. Once the egg hatches, the male no longer protects its young. Seahorses are not monogamous; each male will seek out another female as soon as the eggs inside his pouch hatch. |
