Leafy sea dragon

The leafy seadragon (Phycodurus eques) is a fish that looks like a piece of floating seaweed. It belongs to the same family as seahorses and pipefish, and it lives only along the southern and western coasts of Australia. Its whole look, from its snout to its drifting tail, is built to vanish among kelp and seaweed.

Long leaf-like growths stick out from all over its body. They are not used for swimming. They are camouflage. The leafy seadragon is the marine emblem of the state of South Australia and a focus of local ocean conservation. People also call it Glauert's seadragon, and its name comes from the Greek words for seaweed and skin.

A fish disguised as seaweed

The leafy seadragon moves with two small, almost transparent fins: one pair on the sides of its neck and one on its back near the tail. They ripple so gently that the animal seems to drift like a bit of kelp.

It grows to about 20 to 24 centimetres, a little larger than most seahorses, and eats plankton and small crustaceans. It can change colour a little to blend in, depending on its diet, age, location and stress. Unlike a seahorse, it cannot coil its tail around things.

Where to find one

Leafy seadragons live from Wilson's Promontory in Victoria west to Jurien Bay in Western Australia, among rocky reefs, sandy patches near reefs and seagrass or seaweed beds. The water there is cool, and the animals are very delicate, so they struggle to survive outside their natural home.

Scientists once thought each one stayed in a tiny area, but later research showed they can travel hundreds of metres and find their way back home.

On the globe

The model shows a leafy seadragon covered in leaf-like frills, off the southern coast of Australia.