By Cristina Hodgson • Published: 14 Feb 2020 • 7:37
The veterinarians of the Oceanográfic in Valencia, Spain, have performed emergency surgery on a seahorse.
The microscopic surgery required a stitch which was almost bigger than the seahorse itself.
The emergency surgery was performed when an anomaly was discovered. The specimen in question, a male, had given birth to about a thousand offspring and the effort caused the incubator bag to prolapse.
The anomaly would have likely have resulted in the death of the animal had the vets not intervened.
The surgery was sucessfully executed with the aid of special magnifying glasses and microsurgical devices.
Veterinarians from the Oceanografic Valencia tweeted the following:
“Veterinarians from the Oceanografic perform microsurgery to save a seahorse. After the effort of giving birth to more than a thousand offspring, the tiny animal was turned over into the bag in which it incubates for six weeks.”
👨🏼⚕ Veterinarios del @Oceanografic_vl realizan una microcirugía para salvar a un caballito de mar. Tras el esfuerzo de parir a más de mil crías, al minúsculo animal se le giró la bolsa en la que las incuba durante seis semanas. 🌐 https://t.co/mN3DC7Pwsm pic.twitter.com/KxGYl8vsLF — Oceanogràfic València (@Oceanografic_vl) February 12, 2020
👨🏼⚕ Veterinarios del @Oceanografic_vl realizan una microcirugía para salvar a un caballito de mar.
Tras el esfuerzo de parir a más de mil crías, al minúsculo animal se le giró la bolsa en la que las incuba durante seis semanas.
🌐 https://t.co/mN3DC7Pwsm pic.twitter.com/KxGYl8vsLF
— Oceanogràfic València (@Oceanografic_vl) February 12, 2020
Seahorses are unique in the animal kingdom. It’s the males and not the females that gestate. They have a sack where the female deposits hundreds of eggs. The male fertilises them and closes the sack until they mature. The gestation period lasts between ten days and six weeks, depending on the species (35 in total) and the temperature of the water. After this period the seahorse lets the young out by contracting its body to make pressure and release them.
As Euro Weekly News understands, the Valencian seahorse has recovered well and the stitch is evolving properly.
According to reports from Onda Cero, the veterinarians have informed that the seahorse “continues with his normal habits” meaning the little fella spends the day eating and swimming. And will no doubt be a father again soon.
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