Maternal Fish Father
In the warm and temperate waters of the world live two unusual fish: the sea horse and its
relative, the pipefish.
The sea horse, so-called because its head resembles a horse, is a small fish about two to eight
inches long. It swims by moving the dorsal fin on its back. It is the only fish with a prehensile tail that it
uses, like a monkey, to coil around and cling to seaweed.
The pipefish is named for its long snout, which looks like a thin pipe. When its body is straight,
the pipefish resembles a slender snake. Its body forms an S shape and is propelled by its rear fins.
But it is not appearance that makes the sea horse and pipefish unique. It is their paternal roles.
With both fish, the female’s responsibility ends when she lays and deposits her eggs. From that point
on, the male takes over and, in a manner of speaking, gives birth to the babies.
Both the male sea horse and pipefish have pouch-like organs on their undersides in which the
female deposits her eggs. Here the young fish stay and are nourished for either a few days for several
weeks, depending on the species. When the baby sea horses are ready to be born, the father sea horse
attaches itself to a plant and actually goes through the pangs of childbirth. As the sea horse bends back
and forth, the wall of its brood pouch contracts. With each spasm, a baby fish its introduced into the
world of the sea. The birth of the baby pipefish is less dramatic. The father’s pouch simply opens, and
the offspring swim off on their own.