Weedy Seadragon

Phyllopteryx taeniolatus

Weedy Seadragons are named for the leafy appendages along their bodies, resembling seaweed. Their vibrant camouflage helps them blend into their coastal habitats like kelp forests, seagrass meadows, and coral reefs.

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Animal Type

Bony Fish

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Range

Eastern Indian Ocean

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Natural Habitat

Coastal Waters

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Diet

Crustaceans, plankton

Conservation Status

Not Evaluated
  • NE
    Not Evaluated
  • DD
    Data Deficient
  • LC
    Least Concern
  • NT
    Near Threatened
  • VU
    Vulnerable
  • EN
    Endangered
  • CR
    Critically Endangered
  • EW
    Extinct in the Wild
  • EX
    Extinct
Extinct
VU
Vulnerable

At high risk of extinction

Find out more

Characteristics

Male seadragons are dedicated fathers that brood and nourish around 250 to 300 fertilised eggs in a brood patch on the underside of their tails. When these eggs are deposited, the seadragon’s skin forms a cup around each of them. After 30 to 38 days, the eggs hatch, and the young rely on their yolk sacs for two to three days before beginning to hunt independently.

Feeding behaviour

Seadragons have long, tubular, toothless mouths that can suck up a prey whole by expanding a joint in the lower snout. Their keen eyes can move independently of each other, aiding in precise hunting. Using pivot feeding, they rapidly rotate their snouts with the help of elastic recoil of tendons to catch small, fast-moving prey with remarkable accuracy.

Threats faced/Conservation

Found only around Australia, this species is affected by the ongoing degradation and loss of coastal habitats. Seagrass meadows and coral reefs are declining in both quality and size due to human activities, threatening the survival of Weedy Seadragons that rely on them for shelter and protection.