Is that a piece of seaweed? No, it is the leafy sea dragon, a close relative of the seahorse. This amazingly camouflaged creature is found along the southern and western coasts of Australia. The name is derived from its appearance with long leaf-like protrusions growing out from all over the body. This animal propels itself forward with the use of a fin on the ridge of its neck and another fin near the end of its tail. These fins are transparent and move very slowly as to create the illusion of floating seaweed. The rest of its many fins only serve as camouflage. The sea dragon can also change color to blend in, but this depends on the age, diet, location and stress level.
The sea dragon has a long snout that it uses to feed, it mainly eats plankton but it can also eat shrimp and small fish. Oddly enough, leafy sea dragons have no teeth, which is extremely rare amongst animals that consume shrimp and small fish.
They are about 20-24 centimeters long or 8-10 inches.
0 comments:
Post a Comment