Student Stuff
Weedy Seadragon
Phyllopteryx taeniolatus (Lacépède, 1804)
Leafy Seadragon
Phycodurus eques (Günther, 1865)
The common names of the Weedy and Leafy Seadragons refer to the leaf-like appendages on the body. These fishes live among kelp-covered rocks below the low tide line in depths from about 3 to 50m. Unlike seahorses, seadragons do not have a pouch for rearing the young. Instead, the male carries the eggs fixed to the underside of his tail from where they eventually hatch. These superbly camouflaged fishes are endemic to (only found in) Australian temperate waters.
Weedy Seadragon
The image on the right shows an adult male Weedy Seadragon with eggs attached to the underside of the tail. This fish was photographed at La Perouse, New South Wales.
The Weedy Seadragon lives in kelp-covered rocky reefs around the southern coastline of Australia from the central New South Wales coast to Rottnest Island, Western Australia.
The image on the right is a close-up of the head of an adult male. The Weedy Seadragon has a long pipe-like snout with a small terminal mouth. It feeds on mysids and other small crustaceans.
Juvenile Weedy Seadragons can be very difficult to spot in their algal habitat. This 8cm long fish was photographed at Shark Point, Clovelly, New South Wales.
This species is protected in New South Wales. More details, including potential threats.
View the Weedy Seadragon fact sheet.
Leafy Seadragon
The Leafy Seadragon has more of the leaf-like appendages on the body than the Weedy Seadragon.
This species has only been recorded from the southern coastline of Australia, from Kangaroo Island, South Australia to Rottnest Island, Western Australia.
The image on the right shows P. Partridge examining a Leafy Seadragon at a depth of 9m at Rapid Bay jetty, South Australia.
The Leafy Seadragon in the image on the right is a male which is carrying eggs attached to the underside of its tail. View a larger image of the eggs.
This fish was also photographed at a depth of 9m of water at Victor Harbour, South Australia.
The image on the right shows a 13.5cm long juvenile Leafy Seadragon from the Australian Museum Fish Collection (AMS I.20197-001). The specimen was collected in 16m of water at Kangaroo Island, South Australia in March 1978.
Note the long tubular snout, the pectoral fin on the "neck" of the fish
and the long dorsal fin on the "back"
This Leafy Seadragon was photographed at a depth of 6m at Victor Harbour, South Australia.
Further reading
- Kuiter, R.H. 1993. Coastal Fishes of South-Eastern Australia. Crawford House Press. Pp. 437.
- Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland. Pp. 433.
- Dawson, C.E. in Gomon, M.F, C.J.M. Glover & R.H. Kuiter (Eds). 1994. The Fishes of Australia's South Coast. State Print, Adelaide. Pp. 992.
