Crazy Ways Animals Give Birth
Sea horse
The seahorse is a fascinating living being, not only because of its morphology and size, but also for its rather exceptional way of life. In this fish, the male has a very important role in reproduction since it is he who carries the young and gives birth to them. Zoom in on this natural wonder, this unique phenomenon in the world which continues to impress scientists.
The seahorses are quite special as fish since they parade before mating. This display does not take place at the same time in the species. In the Mediterranean, for example, reproduction occurs from April to October. In the Atlantic, it takes place from May to September. It all starts with a sort of aquatic ballet during which the couple turns on themselves for several minutes. Then they put themselves cheek to cheek and hug each other.
After mating and depositing the eggs in the incubator pouch of the male hippocampus, the male hippocampus incubates them for about 28 days. After hatching, the little ones still stay in their daddy's pocket for a few days. They reach 5mm by the time they are kicked out of their comfort zone. To do this, the seahorse seeks a quiet place in the seabed and clings to a support. The little ones are expelled in small groups until the bag disappears completely.
Banana slugs
Like all slugs, the banana slug - here in the midst of the dance of seduction and whose nickname it does not seem necessary to explain - is hermaphrodite . Its genital opening is ... next to his head. And its appears oversized relative to the size of the animal - even though this slug, which can grow up to 10 inches, is the second largest slug in the world. As a result, it often happens that after a coupling that lasts an eternity, the of one remains stuck in the genital opening of the other!
To get by, banana slugs - found on the Pacific coast of North America - take an extreme solution. The slug victim of his squatter gnaws his and simply tears it off……ouch! Scientifically, we call this process apophallation. The squatter then just has to continue living as a female slug.
Dying for a cause
Okay so this one is pretty weird and downright gory if you ask us. Male honey bee drones take copulation to the extreme. Boasting an internal that is turned inside out during the you know what, the drone bee injects its thing inside the queen.
But as it the poor guy falls back, breaking off what matters to most men and dies in the process. The sacrifice in theory should work. However, there are other drones who are also willing to die for the queen and when its their turn they simply remove the ‘barrier’ and get on with the job before passing into the void without a genital to show for their efforts.