Potbellied Seahorse

Potbellied seahorses are the largest seahorse in Australia. They get their name from the large abdomen that males sport, in which they carry hundreds of eggs during spawning season. Males are good dads, raising several broods of young each year from different mothers, who take turns depositing eggs into their belly pouch. The eggs hatch into larvae, which mature into adults.

Larvae and adults alike can swim—or hang on to floating material in the ocean with their ridged, curved tails! They are nocturnal, sometimes forming groups at night to feed. To eat, they suck up their food through their long snout and swallow it. Unlike a horse on land that chews grass, seahorses don’t have any teeth!