eli5 how is a male seahorse able to give birth?

Question

If it has testicles doesn’t that make it a male? Does it have a uterus? How is a baby able to grow if not in a uterus?

In: 10

Answer 1

You are right, the sea horse does not have a uterus, and so doesn’t give birth in the same sense that mammals do. Most fish lay eggs externally, but some fish have evolved methods of keeping the developing young with them for protection. Like with mamals, male sea horses produce sperm, and females produce eggs. But the male sea horse has a special pouch in his digestive tract where he swallows and stores the fertilized eggs. When the eggs hatch, he barfs up the young. Unlike mammals the male doesn’t provide any nutrients to the developing eggs, he just stores them internally.