|
LEAFY SEADRAGON FACTS |
Description
A seahorse and pipefish relative with a long, contorted trunk that is deep in adults. Head is held at a right angle to body; snout long. Head and body encased in ring-like bony plates, with elaborate ornamentation of long spines and large leaf-like appendages that make it appear remarkably like a piece of macroalgal seaweed. Tail not prehensile. Varies in colour, but usually yellowish with red-edged white lines on the head and body and purplish blotches on the appendages.
Leafy Seadragons swim with a rocking motion, increasing the illusion of seaweed in the tidal surge. They congregate in late winter to form monogamous pairs. Spawning occurs during summer, and females deposit their eggs onto a specialised area of spongy tissue on the exposed underside of the male's tail. The eggs become partially embedded in this tissue and are incubated for period of 6-8 weeks. Males may migrate to deeper waters (to about 25 m) before the brood hatches over a period of 6-7 days. The offspring are dispersed over a wide area to improve their chances of survival. This species is the State Marine Emblem of South Australia. Leafy Seadragons are fully protected by law and must not be collected or harmed.
Author credit: Ralph Foster & Amanda Manuel / South Australian Museum
Habitat
Sheltered bays, generally around rocky reefs amongst macroalgae at depths of 4-50 metres.
Food
Plankton or particles
Range
Southern Australia.
Species Description is from Museums Field Guide, Atlas of Living Australia at website at https://lists.ala.org.au Licensed under Creative Commons Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Classification
| Class: | Actinopterygii | | Order: | Syngnathiformes | | Family: | Syngnathidae | | Genus: | Phycodurus | | Species: | eques | | Common Name: | Leafy Seadragon |
|
|
