Endangered sea dragon is pregnant - AfroChat - African American

JamieC · June 13th, 2008, 12:00 PM

But don't look for the expectant mom — dads carry the eggs in this family

updated 5:56 p.m. PT, Thurs., June. 12, 2008

Endangered sea dragon pregnant - Science - MSNBC.com

A male weedy sea dragon carries eggs on his tail at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, Thursday, June 11, 2008. For only the third time ever in a U.S. aquarium, one of the endangered creatures is pregnant.

ATLANTA - A weedy sea dragon at the Georgia Aquarium has something to celebrate this Father's Day. One of the rare creatures is pregnant for only the third time ever at a U.S. aquarium, aquarium officials said. But don't look for the expectant mom — dads carry the eggs in this family.

The aquarium's sea dragon has about 70 fertilized eggs — which look like small red grapes — attached to his tail. He is expected to give birth in early to mid-July, said Kerry Gladish, a biologist at the aquarium.

Sea dragons, sea horses and pipe fish are the only species where the male carries the eggs, Gladish said. Sea dragon pregnancies are rare because researchers don't know what gets them in the mood to mate.

"We know there's something biologically or environmentally that triggers them to want to reproduce, but in the aquarium world, we're not sure what that is," Gladish said.

The aquarium recently changed the lighting and thinned out the plants in the sea dragons' tank to give them room to court each other.

The aquarium has seven of the 18-inch sea dragons, which resemble Dr. Seuss characters with long aardvark-like snouts, colorful sea horse bodies and multiple paddle-like fins.

During mating, the female lays dozens of eggs and then transfers them to the male's tail.

In the wild, the survival rate for sea dragon babies is low, but in captivity it's about 60 percent, Gladish said. The fish is on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's list of threatened species, mostly because of pollution and population growth in its native Australia.

Only about 50 aquariums worldwide have sea dragons.

______

*Interesting*

afrocentric · June 13th, 2008, 04:30 PM

yes, this is interesting.

June 13th, 2008, 12:00 PM	#1 (permalink)
JamieC SuperModerator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: San Diego, Ca Baby And Proud Of It!! Gender: Posts: 5,935 Thanks: 53 Thanked 78 Times in 67 Posts Rep Power: 53 Credits: 23,339	Endangered sea dragon is pregnant But don't look for the expectant mom — dads carry the eggs in this family updated 5:56 p.m. PT, Thurs., June. 12, 2008 Endangered sea dragon pregnant - Science - MSNBC.com A male weedy sea dragon carries eggs on his tail at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, Thursday, June 11, 2008. For only the third time ever in a U.S. aquarium, one of the endangered creatures is pregnant. ATLANTA - A weedy sea dragon at the Georgia Aquarium has something to celebrate this Father's Day. One of the rare creatures is pregnant for only the third time ever at a U.S. aquarium, aquarium officials said. But don't look for the expectant mom — dads carry the eggs in this family. The aquarium's sea dragon has about 70 fertilized eggs — which look like small red grapes — attached to his tail. He is expected to give birth in early to mid-July, said Kerry Gladish, a biologist at the aquarium. Sea dragons, sea horses and pipe fish are the only species where the male carries the eggs, Gladish said. Sea dragon pregnancies are rare because researchers don't know what gets them in the mood to mate. "We know there's something biologically or environmentally that triggers them to want to reproduce, but in the aquarium world, we're not sure what that is," Gladish said. The aquarium recently changed the lighting and thinned out the plants in the sea dragons' tank to give them room to court each other. The aquarium has seven of the 18-inch sea dragons, which resemble Dr. Seuss characters with long aardvark-like snouts, colorful sea horse bodies and multiple paddle-like fins. During mating, the female lays dozens of eggs and then transfers them to the male's tail. In the wild, the survival rate for sea dragon babies is low, but in captivity it's about 60 percent, Gladish said. The fish is on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's list of threatened species, mostly because of pollution and population growth in its native Australia. Only about 50 aquariums worldwide have sea dragons. ______ Interesting __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. It's Like That

June 13th, 2008, 04:30 PM	#2 (permalink)
afrocentric Afro Resident Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: oklahoma city Gender: Posts: 2,669 Thanks: 1,013 Thanked 407 Times in 325 Posts Rep Power: 58 Credits: 17,056	yes, this is interesting. __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. hey yall!!!

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode