Cold Water
Leafy Seadragon
Phycodurus eques · Bony fish, family Syngnathidae; an Australian endemic seadragon and South Australia's marine emblem
The leafy seadragon does not look like a fish even while you watch it swim. Leaf-shaped skin lobes sprout from head, trunk, and tail until the animal reads as drifting kelp; propulsion comes from small, nearly transparent fins, so it hangs and pivots like weed obeying a private current. Leafies live only along Australia's southern coast, working kelp lines, seagrass edges, and jetty piles for mysid shrimp taken through a pipette snout. Males carry the brood, eggs pressed onto a patch beneath the tail for six to eight weeks. South Australian jetty and bay dives made the species a pilgrimage animal, and the rules reflect its status: fully protected, never touched, never herded into open water for a photograph. Move with the swell, keep the lights low and brief, and let the kelp keep pretending.
Dove e quando avvistarne uno
"Residente" significa che la maggior parte delle immersioni in quella destinazione li incontra; "stagionale" significa che sono presenti in modo affidabile nei mesi indicati; qualsiasi altra cosa è un bonus, non un piano.
| Destinazione | Affidabilità | Mesi | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| South AustraliaAustralia | Resident: seen on most dives | Tutto l'anno |
Il mese migliore, a colpo d'occhio
| Mese | Destinazioni affidabili |
|---|---|
| January | South Australia |
| February | South Australia |
| March | South Australia |
| April | South Australia |
| May | South Australia |
| June | South Australia |
| July | South Australia |
| August | South Australia |
| September | South Australia |
| October | South Australia |
| November | South Australia |
| December | South Australia |
Capirle
Habitat: Kelp and macroalgae beds, seagrass edges, and jetty piles over sand in cool southern Australian water.
Distribuzione: Southern Australian coast only, roughly from South Australia's gulfs west into southern Western Australia.
Comportamento: Drifts among weed on nearly transparent fins, relying wholly on its leafy costume; males brood the eggs, carried on a patch under the tail for roughly six to eight weeks.
Dieta: Mysid shrimp and other small crustaceans sucked through the pipette snout in vast numbers.
Dimensioni: tipicamente intorno a 0.24 m; documentato fino a 0.35 m (total length).
Come comportarsi in sua presenza
Fully protected: never touch, herd into open water, or crowd for a cleaner backdrop; move with the swell, keep lights brief, and stay at the animal's level rather than above it.
Conservazione
Least Concern under its current assessment and fully protected in Australian waters; habitat loss along the southern coast and past curio collection drove the protections.
Siti mappati noti per avvistamenti
I siti evidenziati sono stati schedati per questa specie dai nostri redattori; i numeri sono record di occorrenza GBIF registrati entro circa 5 km dal sito a partire dal 1990.
Guarda
Dai canali ufficiali
Wildlife of Monterey | New film in our auditorium
Live Aviary Cam | Monterey Bay Aquarium
Live Aviary Cam | Monterey Bay Aquarium
I video sono link incorporati ai canali dei rispettivi autori. Non ospitiamo nulla e accreditiamo tutto.