Leafy Sea Dragon
Leafy and Weedy Sea Dragons, Leafy and Weedy Sea Dragon Pictures, Leafy and Weedy Sea Dragon Facts - National Geographic
Bibliography: Society, N. (2015). Leafy and Weedy Sea Dragons, Leafy and Weedy Sea Dragon Pictures, Leafy and Weedy Sea Dragon Facts - National Geographic. [online] National Geographic.http://animals.nationalgeographic.com
/animals/fish/sea-dragon/ [6 July 2015]
Overview:
Leafy sea dragons are the most camouflaged creatures in the planet. With leaf shaped fins over their entire bodies, they are perfectly outfitted to blend in with seaweed and kelp they live along. Leafy sea dragons are usually brown or yellow with very long, thin snouts with small transparent dorsal fins. The dorsal fins runs along the sea dragons back and the pectoral fins are located are located on the neck.
Habitats & Challenges:
The leafy sea dragon is one of the two species found in Southern Australia's waters and nowhere else in the world. The leafy sea dragon lives among rocky reefs, seaweed beds, sea-grass meadows and sand patches near weed reefs. These sea dragons inhabit Southern Australia because of their temperate coastal waters which seasonally record around 13 to 19 degrees Celsius. The leafy sea dragon can be found from the surface to 25 m. During mating season, the male sea dragon gets pregnant and gives birth to the young instead of the female. The female lays 100 to 250 eggs onto a brood patch under the male's tail where they are fertilized. The abiotic factors that can affect the leafy sea dragon is the dead coral, rocks, sand and water. These factors can affect the sea dragons habitat and make it defenseless against predators. The leafy sea dragon have a long pipe which they use to suck up its prey, eating mysid shrimps or sea lice. Mysid shrimps feed on red seaweed that thrive in kelp forests where the sea dragons live. As leafy sea dragons are unique and fascinating, people would collect them illegally for their aquariums, though the sea dragons usually die quickly because their captors do not provide them with the correct food for their daily needs. Other major challenges include pollution as well as loss of their sea-grass habitat.
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Habitat: |
Adaptions & Behavior:
Their slow swimming and fragile bodies, leafy sea dragons depend on camouflage to hide themselves from predators. The leafy sea dragons 'leafy' appendages change color depending on their seaweed environments which help protect them from threats. They also have the ability to change the color of their eggs according to the environment. When the water is calm, the leafy sea dragon remains still for long periods of time. They have a very powerful sense of direction, as they would travel long distances to find food but would return to their location for resting. When the water moves too fast they are in danger of dying from exhaustion which can kill larger numbers of them when there is a big storm. So if the leafy sea dragon is not feeding it is resting as they can get tired very easily. Leafy sea dragons have numerous of sharp spines along the sides of their bodies which they use to defend against attacking predators. The eyes of the leafy sea dragon are capable of moving independently which gives them the ability at different directions at the same time. These sea dragons have dorsal and pectoral fins to steer and move.
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Camouflage: |
Pattern:
Leafy sea dragons mostly swim by themselves, so when food becomes scarce, they migrate to deeper waters. When winter comes, the sea dragon move to shallow bays where they migrate and pair with other leafy sea dragons. Leafy sea dragons are fascinating to watch as their movements mimic the swaying movement of seaweed and kelp. They steer water using dorsal fins along with the spine.
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Pregnant: |