Common Misconceptions! Are seahorses monogamous? :)

In many websites such as wikipedia, seahorses is said to be monogamous! :) How much of this is true?

First, what does monogamous refer to? :D It refers to having only one mate, while polygamous refers to having different mates.

Actually, did you know that seahorses are usually polygamous? Only some species are monogamous.

Why is it then that so many people believed -and many people still do -that seahorses are monogamous? This was a big deal, as monogamy was thought only to occur in higher species like mammals, and certainly not in fish.

This was due to the media sentionalising this idea of monogamy. It was great publicity for conservation groups. These groups painted the picture of seahorses dying of loneliness in the oceans when their mates were taken from them, thus encouraging people to stop keeping wild seahorses as pets.

Even though the mating patterns of only a small handful of seahorse species have been studied, there is enough evidence to show that seahorses are in fact not monogamous, contrary to what the public would like to believe. However, this is also a saving grace -it means that seahorses will not be as easily forced into extinction, as if a mate disappears, the seahorse itself will actively seek out a new mate for reproduction.

Hope this enabled you to brush up on your current affair skills on seahorses! :D And gain more knowledge of the mates of seahorses!