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White's Seahorse courtship and mating

White's Seahorses courting
Image 1. Photo © D. & L. Atkinson. View larger image.
White's Seahorses courting
Image 2. Photo © D. & L. Atkinson. View larger image.
White's Seahorses courting
Image 3. Photo © D. & L. Atkinson. View larger image.
White's Seahorses courting
Image 4. Photo © D. & L. Atkinson. View larger image.
White's Seahorses courting
Image 5. Photo © D. & L. Atkinson. View larger image.
White's Seahorses courting
Image 6. Photo © D. & L. Atkinson. View larger image.
White's Seahorses mating
Image 7. Photo © D. & L. Atkinson. View larger image.

This remarkable series of images that show White's Seahorse courting and mating were taken by photographers D. and L. Atkinson. The fish were photographed in January 2008 at a depth of 8 m at 'The Pipeline', Nelson Bay, Port Stephens, New South Wales.

The images were taken over a period of 16 minutes. The same behaviour was observed a few days earlier but took place over a shorter time period.

The seahorse pair was first observed at 12:07pm. The sequence of events was as follows:

Image 1:
12:08 pm - The fish were ‘nodding’ to each other.

Image 2:
12:09 pm - The fish were “weaving backwards and forwards” in a dance-like motion.

Image 3:
12:14 pm - They entwined their tails

Image 4:
12:15 pm - The two fish rose off the bottom. At this time the male’s pouch was open.

Image 5:
12.21pm - The male appeared to be showing his pouch to the female.

Image 6:
12:22 pm - The two fish returned to the bottom. The male’s pouch closed and the male and female continued their ‘waving dance’.

Image 7:
12:23 pm - The two fish again rose off the bottom and the female deposited her eggs in the male's pouch.

Related links

Further reading

  1. Dawson, C.E. in Gomon, M.F. J.C.M. Glover & R.H. Kuiter (Eds). 1994. The Fishes of Australia's South Coast. State Print, Adelaide. Pp. 992.
  2. Hutchins, B. & R. Swainston. 1986. Sea Fishes of Southern Australia. Complete Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Swainston Publishing. Pp. 180.
  3. Kuiter, R.H. 1993. Coastal Fishes of South-Eastern Australia. Crawford House Press. Pp. 437.
  4. Kuiter, R.H. 2001. Revision of the Australian Seahorses of the Genus Hippocampus (Syngnathiformes: Syngnathidae) with Descriptions of Nine New Species. Records of the Australian Museum. 53: 293-340.
  5. Lourie, S.A., A.C.J. Vincent, & H.J. Hall. 1999. Seahorses: an identification guide to the world's species and their conservation. Project Seahorse, London. Pp. 214.
  6. Vincent, A. 1989. Pregnant Males & Horses' Tales. Australian Natural History. 23 (2): 122-129.
  7. Vincent, A. 1994. Seahorse Sense. How Father becomes Pregnant. Australian Geographic. 33:48-51.
  8. Vincent, A.C.J. 1996. The International Trade in Seahorses. Traffic International. Pp. 163
  9. Vincent, A. 1998. Seahorses under Seige. Nature Australia. 25(12): 56-63.
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