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Leafy Seadragon Phycodurus eques Günther 1865
[CAAB 37 282001]

Distribution Map see an interactive map here (new window)

The remarkably beautiful Leafy Seadragon is a master of disguise. Elaborate "leafy" appendages and an amazing colour pattern makes it difficult for both predators and prey to distinguish this fish from kelp and other macroalgae. The Leafy Seadragon is protected throughout its range and is the marine State emblem for South Australia.

Distribution, ecology and habitat:

Endemic to temperate waters of southern Australia, from about Western Port (Vic), westwards to South Australia and Western Australia to the Abrolhos Islands; Victorian records are sporadic. Leafy Seadragons live in association with kelp (Ecklonia) and seagrass beds (Posidonia) as well as sandy, rocky and reef substrates in bays protected from large swells at 4-30 metres.

Size:

350 mm TL

Food and feeding:

Feeds on mysids and other small invertebrates, including shrimps and benthic crustaceans such as very small squat lobsters.

Reproduction and early life history:

Reproduction: Leafy Seadragons form monogamous pairs and males brood two clutches of eggs each breeding season. Individuals congregate in late winter to pair and spawning usually occurs during the summer months, but may last from August to March. The eggs are partially embedded in spongy tissue on the exposed underside of the tail just behind anal fin. Males may migrate to deeper water (to about 25 m) before the young hatch after an incubation period of 6-8 weeks. The brood hatches over a period of 6-7 days, during which time the male disperses the young over a wide area.
Eggs: Males incubate up to 25-300 pear-shaped eggs, 4 mm by 7 mm in length.
Larvae: Newly emerged young are well developed, very slender and 30-35 mm in length; small yolk sac small; head small, snout shorter than adults; body rings and ridges initially indistinct, becoming distinguishable by the presence of short body spines. Dermal appendages become more pronounced with growth.
Juveniles: Found in shallow sheltered waters in 5-7 m in association with sand, weed, and rubble, sometimes in aggregations. Young feed on tiny mysids and grow rapidly during the first few months to almost half adult size.

Characteristics:

Meristics: D 34-38; A 4; P 19-21; Trunk rings 18; Tail rings 41-44; Subdorsal rings 0.50-0.00 + 10.75-12.50 = 11.25-13.00
Head and body: Body long, slender, contorted, trunk deep in adults; head at right angle to body, snout long. Head and body encased in ring-like bony plates with long spines, tipped with elaborate leaf-like dermal flaps; tail prehensile.

Colour:

Overall colour variable greenish to brownish-yellow, with numerous thin dark-edged pale lines crossing sides; pattern resembles kelp or macroalgae.

Similar species:

The Leafy Seadragon differs from the Common Seadragon in body shape, colour pattern and in having long body spines and very elaborate, 'leafy' appendages. The two species are rarely found together.

Fisheries:

Although this charismatic species is eagerly sought by aquarists both in Australia and overseas, Leafy Seadragons are reportedly difficult to keep in captivity. Wild caught individuals and juveniles born to wild caught males are subsequently reared and sold in Australia and exported overseas for the aquarium trade. The Leafy Seadragon is occasionally taken in trawls as bycatch in commercial fisheries.

Conservation Status:

International: Listed under Appendix II of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES). As a result, the species is subject to the Convention, http://www.cites.org/
Listed as Near Threatened on the 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened species. http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/10057/summ
Australian Government Legislation: Phycodurus eques is a listed Marine species under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act 1999 Marine Species).

The species is also protected throughout its range by Victorian, South Australian and Western Australian Government legislation.

All members of the family Syngnathidae (seadragons, pipefish, pipehorses) are protected in South Australia, under the Fisheries (General) Variation Regulations 2006 of the South Australian Fisheries Act.

All Syngnathidae (seahorses, pipefish and seadragons) are fully protected as 'Protected Aquatic Biota' under the Victorian Fisheries Act 1995.

Remarks:

With their colour pattern and frond-like appendages, Leafy Seadragons are remarkably well camouflaged to resemble macroalgae. They also rock back and forth with the wave action looking even more like kelp fronds.

Other common names:

Glauert's Sea-dragon, Leafy Sea-dragon

Original citation:

Phyllopteryx eques Günther 1865, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond.: 327, pl. 15, Port Lincoln, South Australia.

References:

Connolly, R. 2006. Phycodurus eques. In: IUCN 2007. 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. http://www.iucnredlist.org/. Downloaded on 1 February 2008.

Connolly, R.M., A.J. Melville & J.K. Keesing. 2002. Abundance, movement and identification of individual leafy sea dragons, Phycodurus eques (Pisces: Syngnathidae). Mar. Freshw. Res. 53: 777-780.

Connolly, R.M., A.J. Melville & K.M. Preston. 2002. Patterns of movement and habitat use by leafy seadragons tracked ultrasonically. J. Fish Biol. 61: 684-695.

Dawson, C.E. 1994. Family Syngnathidae (pp. 441-474). In Gomon M.F., C.J.M. Glover & R.H. Kuiter (eds.) The fishes of Australia's south coast. State Print, Adelaide, 992 pp.

Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (2008). Phycodurus eques in Species Profile and Threats Database, Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Canberra. Available from: http://www.environment.gov.au/sprat. Accessed 2008-02-12@10:45:19.

Hoese, D.F., D.J. Bray, J.R. Paxton & G.R. Allen. 2006. Fishes. In Beesley, P.L. & A. Wells. (eds.) Zoological catalogue of Australia. Volume 35. ABRS & CSIRO Publishing: Australia, 2178 pp.

Günther, A. 1865. On the pipe-fishes belonging to the genus Phyllopteryx. Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 1865: 327-328, pls. 15-16.

Kuiter, R.H. 1988. Birth of a Leafy Sea-dragon. J. Aust. Geogr. Soc. 12: 91-97.

Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland Press, Sydney, 433 pp.

Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Seahorses, Pipefishes and their Relatives. TMC Publishing, Chorleywood, UK, 240 pp.

Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Coastal Fishes of Southeastern Australia. Gary Allen, Sydney, Australia.

Martin-Smith, K.M. & A.C.J. Vincent. 2006. Exploitation and trade of Australian seahorses, pipehorses, sea dragons and pipefishes (Family Syngnathidae). Oryx, 40(2): 141-151.

Neira, F.J., A.G. Miskiewicz & T. Trnski (eds.) 1998. Larvae of temperate Australian fishes, laboratory guide for larval fish identification. University of Western Australia Press, Nedlands, WA.

Pogonoski, J.J., D.A. Pollard & J.R. Paxton. 2002. Conservation Overview and Action Plan for Australian Threatened and Potentially Threatened Marine and Estuarine Fishes, Environment Australia, Canberra. 375 pp. Available online at: http://www.environment.gov.au/coasts/publications/marine-fish-action/index.html