Seahorses prove that size is everything at Living Coasts

In a move that gives hope to overweight men everywhere, the female seahorse picks the male with the biggest belly!

There’s a clue in the name of the species – the Australian big-bellied seahorse. Living Coasts marine biologist Jodie Peers explained: “In seahorses, the male becomes pregnant. The belly is the brood pouch, which is like a womb – this is where the male carries the eggs.”

Living Coasts is home to four female and 14 male Australian big-bellied seahorses. They arrived in July, coming from an approved specialist breeding centre called Simply Seahorses. They can be found in the Local Coasts indoor area, which opened in July and is also home to starfish and cuttlefish, and features one tank that children can crawl underneath. Living Coasts is keeping Australian big-bellied seahorses – Hippocampus abdominalis, which – like the native seahorses, are a temperate species – to help get feeding and care procedures right before introducing native British seahorses.

Press release from Living Coasts

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