Everything you need to know about Adelaide’s seadragons
Blog |
06 December 2022
Adelaide’s weather is warming up and now is the perfect time to learn about a cool underwater local. Read on to find out everything you need to know about seadragons.
A leafy seadragon carrying eggs. Photo: Pauline Barrett, DragonSearch.
Do seadragons exist?
If you type ‘seadragons’ into Google one the first things to come up is the question ‘do seadragons exist?’
A seadragon may seem like a mythical creature, but Adelaide actually has two types of them:
leafy seadragon (Phycodurus eques) – also South Australia’s official marine emblem
weedy seadragon (Phyllopteryx taeniolatus).
A leafy seadragon. Photo: Martin Stokes.A weedy or common seadragon, which has visibly less leafy appendages than our other seadragon. Photo: Richard Ling, flickr.
Are seadragons the same as seahorses?
Seadragons and seahorses are not the same thing but they are close fish relatives.
The leafy seadragon breeding season runs from around October through to January. During their breeding ritual, the female moves her eggs to cup-like structures under the male’s tail, where they are fertilised and are then carried until they hatch.
Another leafy seadragon carrying his future children. Photo: Antony King, Flinders University Underwater Club.