Leafy and weedy sea dragons
- Leafy sea dragon
The sea dragon is one of the best camouflaged animals in the world. They have leaf-shaped appendages all over their body. They are only used as camouflage The leafy sea dragon propels itself by using a pectoral fin on its neck and a dorsal fin on its back closer to the tail end. Because of their camouflage they perfectly blend in with the kelp and seaweed they live amongst. Here they can hide from their main predators like sharks and rays.
The Leafy sea dragon is found in the waters off south and east Australia, leafy and weedy sea dragons are closely related to seahorses and pipefish. Leafy sea dragons are generally brown to yellow in with spectacular olive-tinted appendages. Weedy sea dragons have more different colours like green, purple and reddish with tiny yellow spots on their body.
- Weedy sea dragon
The snout of a sea dragon is very long and thin and is more trunk like. They feed on tiny crustaceans which are sucked into their snout. Their tail is very thin and cannot be used for gripping, unlike their seahorse cousins. Weedy sea dragons can grow up to 46 cm while a leafy sea dragon only grows up to 35 cm.
Sea dragons are now protected by Australian law, but before that divers often took them to keep them as pets. Pollution and disappearing habitat is also a threat for them.
A female leafy sea dragon deposit the eggs on the tale of the male where they attach themselves to a brood patch. It takes about nine weeks before the eggs start to hatch, but this depends on the water conditions.
