appearance, they are unmistakably d

appearance, they are unmistakably dragons, but in
other ways these delicate creatures of the sea bear little
resemblance to their fierce, mythical namesake. They
are only 45 cm long, fragile, harmless and vulnerable.
Belonging to the same family as seahorses,
seadragons come in two different species: ‘weedy’
(resembling blades of brown seaweed) and the more showy and more endangered ‘leafy’
(looking like aquatic ‘leaves’). They are found only in coastal southern Australian waters and
because they resemble swaying seaweed, can be difficult to find in their natural habitat.
Though well camouflaged, their brilliant colours are visible in sun-dappled waters. Both
species inhabit rocky reefs, seaweed beds and sea grass meadows colonised by seaweed.
They are most often seen in shallow coastal waters. Camouflage is their only protection.
Otherwise sea-dragons are poorly equipped for fleeing from pursuers. The outer skin is
composed of solid bony plates, which limit mobility. The only way they can propel
themselves along is through rapidly oscillating their ventral and dorsal fins. Like sea horses
they possess an internal air bladder, used for vertical motion. With little effort, they can rise
or settle to another depth simply by changing the air volume within the bladder. Because
they blend easily with the background, sea dragons are agile enough to hunt down tiny
shrimps, their main quarry.
Perhaps the most extraordinary thing about sea-dragons is that it is actually the male of the
species which carries the young. During mating, the female lays 100 - 250 eggs onto the
underside of the male’s tail, where they are attached and fertilised. After a period of about