Strange males know to lay in the animal world

Pregnant males giving birth is a rare phenomenon but are present in the animal world. In some cases, it is congenital, others are due to human chemical effects discharging into habitats causing variation in animals.

1. African frogs have males that give birth due to herbicide contamination

According to a recent study, 40 species of African frogs from birth to adulthood must live in environments containing chemicals Atrazine, a chemical found in many herbicides. Through frog research, 10% of these 40 frog species have males that develop into females.

After removing two of the four frog species, the researchers found that they carried male DNA but had ovaries. When it mates with other male frogs it will lay eggs and hatch males. According to the analysis, Atrazine itself reduced testosterone sperm in frogs, making male frogs tend to mate with each other, but not mating with female frogs. It is possible that Atrazine is the "transgender" artifact of frogs in Africa.

2. American male bass became bisexual due to pesticides

Just like African male frogs are mutated by Atrazine, American bass fish have also been shown to be affected by pesticides. In 2004, researchers discovered male bass that spawned eggs on the Potomac River. The cause is attributed to the effects of chemicals emitted by humans and animals.

According to a survey around this time, 42% of male bass fish here show signs of bisexual development, with both testicles and ovary tissue, and 79% of male bass fish have no mating behavior often. A year later, these male fish were also found in West Virginia.

More recently, researchers have also documented antidepressants and other wastewater compounds disrupting the male endocrine systems and making them feminine and laying eggs.

3. Male seahorse has an incubation bag and conception

Unlike the two species, male seahorses have a natural tendency to become pregnant and reproduce thanks to the vesicles. During mating season when male seahorses compete for mates but not to conceive females, they take eggs into an incubator bag.

Then the eggs will be conceived by the male seahorses themselves. He will be pregnant for about 3 weeks with his stomach bulging and hard to move and chase. After three days of labor, the average male seahorse can produce 200 seahorses.

4. The male key fish gives birth

Just like seahorses, male male Pipefish can carry eggs in a prenatal protective bag. It has a gene that supports these protective bags and allows males to become pregnant. The gene called patristacin can regulate the amount of salt in the fish's abdomen.

Interestingly, this gene is also found in both seahorses and kidneys as well as the liver of many other living species.

5. Arowana sea-male grass in pregnant tail

Unlike seahorses, Arowana sea grasses look like a floating seaweed that carries eggs taken from females and hatches in the tail with a long tube. It can take care of about 250 eggs each time. After entering the bag, 9 weeks later the egg will hatch into a baby.

When ready to give birth, the male arowana will throw its tail to shoot the baby fish within 24-48 hours. But only about 5% of young fish can survive after birth and live independently from birth.