Weedy Seadragon
Weedy Seadragon
Phyllopteryx taeniolatus
RareSyngnathidaeHarmlessRegional endemic
ID points
- Red-purple ground covered with yellow spots and fine silvery white bars
- Leaf-like skin flaps fewer and shorter than on the leafy seadragon
- Long snout, with the body clearly kinked in a zigzag
Basics
- Family
- Syngnathidae
- Length
- 35–45 cm
- Depth
- 3-50 m
- Regions
- Temperate & polar
- Distribution
- Temperate seaweed beds of southern Australia
- Habitat
- Temperate seaweed and kelp beds
- Diet
- Small crustaceans
Easily confused with
Leafy SeadragonLeaf-shaped skin flaps all over the body, looking like seaweed
Big-belly SeahorseBelly especially swollen, one of the largest of all seahorses
Pygmy SeahorseUnder 2 cm long, smaller than a fingernailFun fact
The Weedy Seadragon is covered in small leaf-shaped skin flaps that blend it into the surrounding seaweed, though it has far fewer of them than the leafy seadragon. It occurs only along southern Australia, is an emblem of South Australia and is strictly protected by law.