Although it’s well known that seahorses and their cousins the pipefish are the only vertebrates where males become pregnant, researchers have only begun to understand how this unique adaptation works. By studying the behavior of these charismatic fishes and sampling the RNA within the male’s pouch, biologist Tony Wilson and his lab at Brooklyn College have found that seahorse pregnancy may have a deeper genetic link to other forms of pregnancy than previously thought.
Can’t get enough seahorses? See if you can spot the seahorses in these underwater photos.
Credits
Produced by Luke Groskin
Music by Audio Network
Additional Stills and Video by
Tony Wilson, Pond5, SeahorseConservancy.org , Randy Perry (C.C. BY 2.0) Elaine Blum, Shutterstock,
Horsepower the Movie (CC. BY 2.0)
Special thanks to Natalie Cash, Jeff Morey, Tony Wilson, Sunny Scobell, and Frida Sutton
Meet the Producer
About Luke Groskin
@lgroskinLuke Groskin is Science Friday’s video producer. He’s on a mission to make you love spiders and other odd creatures.