Eli5: How do male seahorses give birth? Surely if they have the means of reproduction, that makes them female? What do female seahorses do in this arrangement?

Question

Eli5: How do male seahorses give birth? Surely if they have the means of reproduction, that makes them female? What do female seahorses do in this arrangement?

In: Biology

Answer 1

We commonly say they give birth but that isn’t quite right. Like other fish, they don’t give birth. They lay eggs. Specifically the females lay eggs, but they lay them in a pouch on the male. While in the pouch, the eggs are fertilized and eventually hatch. When the little fish fry eventually come out of the pouch, it *looks* like a birth