What is that creature?
The most common question we get about
Images 2, 3, & 4 is “What is that?”
 In
reply, I like to ask:
“What do you think it is?”
Almost everyone guesses some kind of
seahorse. This is
actually a pretty good answer, as the pictured creature is
related to the seahorse and other pipefish, but this is a
seadragon.
How do seadragons differ from seahorses?
 They
are not seahorses and differ from seahorses in that they
have appendages. It
is from these appendages that the seadragons derive the
names weedy and leafy.
These appendages are not used for propulsion, only
camouflage. The
seadragons propel themselves with their pectoral and dorsal
fins like seahorses.
- Like
seahorses, the male carries the fertilized eggs, but in the
case of seadragons the eggs are kept under the tail. Unlike the seahorse, they have no brood pouch for
rearing.
- Unlike
seahorses that coil their tails and use them to grab
objects, the seadragons tails do not coil up.
Where do seadragons live?
 Seadragons
are native to the waters of the southern and western coasts of
Australia.
We have photos of
both the weedy and the leafy seadragon, the only two seadragons
that are known.
How big can seadragons get?
The weedy seadragon is longer than
the leafy. If is
not unusual for a weedy seadragon to attain a length in excess
of ~18” but the leafy seadragon is usually under 13”.
The weedy seadragon we display at shows is pretty close
to the actual size of the photographed creature.
-Therese
& Reid return to Creatures of the Sea index
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