Marine moms may not get to celebrate Mother’s Day, but they are certainly deserving of an afternoon at an underwater spa or a fancy fish dinner. The ocean is home to some unbelievable mothers—some who protect their eggs for whole lifetimes and others whose instinct leads them right back to the place they were born when it’s time to give birth!
Let’s dive into some of these incredible oceanic mothers.
1. Seahorse
The seahorse is a fantastic study of motherhood because the males actually give birth!
The male seahorse comes equipped with a pouch on its stomach that can carry up to 2,000 babies at a time. The seahorse’s mating ritual involves the male and female intertwining their tails and swimming together for hours on end—a true under-the-sea dance. This unique practice results in the female depositing her eggs into the male’s pouch, where they are fertilized. The fertilized eggs incubate in the male’s pouch for around 24 days.
Once these thousands of baby seahorses are ready to greet the world, the male undergoes contractions and expels them from his pouch. That’s the extent of seahorse parenthood, however, as the young are left to fend for themselves once they are born.
2. Octopus
Mother certainly knows best in the octopus world. As one of the ocean’s most intelligent creatures, the octopus has evolved to dedicate its life to its young.
Octopuses only live between three and five years, and for octo-moms, the bulk of that time is spent seeking out the perfect place to give birth—and then caring for the eggs when they hatch.
A mother octopus will not abandon her eggs, not even for food, and will die shortly after her eggs have hatched. Octopus motherhood is an incredible story of self-sacrifice for her children and the continuity of the species!
3. Humpback Whale
Humpback whale moms add a new layer to the classic ‘Are we there yet?’ gripes from the kids on a road trip.
These mothers will swim up to 4,000 miles during gestation to find the perfect spot to give birth to their calves. Nursing their young takes an extraordinary toll on a female humpback whale, feeding her young up to 100 gallons of milk per day!
4. Clownfish
All clownfish are born as males. Yep, that’s right—these colorful fish, made famous in Finding Nemo , undergo a sex-switch process called protandrous sequential hermaphroditism, or protandry.
These fish live in small groups, with the lone female as the alpha. She is protected by all of the other males while she lays her eggs upon the coral or rocks. Once the female in the group of clownfish dies, she is replaced by the largest male—who becomes a female!
5. Loggerhead Turtle
Loggerhead turtle moms are nature’s navigators. These fascinating reptiles are born with instincts to read the earth’s magnetic fields to feed and find fertile spots to graze based on currents and the chemistry of the ocean.
Loggerhead turtles are not raised by their moms—instead, their instincts are coded into their DNA. Unbelievably, when it’s time for these new moms to lay eggs, they find their way back to the exact beach where they themselves were hatched.
The ocean is full of unbelievable moms, from the male seahorse fulfilling the role of the mother to the loggerhead turtle that has its instincts imprinted into its genetic memory. These captivating creatures continue to capture our imagination with their unique motherhood styles.
Meet Our Moms
Want to meet some of the ocean’s most extraordinary moms face-to-fin? Come explore Ripley’s Aquariums , where marine miracles come to life!
Dive in and discover the wonders of the deep—only at Ripley’s Aquariums !