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.
在哪里、什么时候能见到
"常驻"表示在该目的地潜水时大多数情况下都能遇见它们；"季节性"表示在所列月份内可靠出现；其他任何情况都是意外惊喜，而非计划中的保障。
| 目的地 | 可靠性 | 月份 | 备注 |
|---|---|---|---|
| South AustraliaAustralia | Resident: seen on most dives | 全年皆宜 |
最佳月份一览
| 月份 | 可靠目的地 |
|---|---|
| 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 |
深入了解
栖息地: Kelp and macroalgae beds, seagrass edges, and jetty piles over sand in cool southern Australian water.
分布范围: Southern Australian coast only, roughly from South Australia's gulfs west into southern Western Australia.
习性: 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.
食性: Mysid shrimp and other small crustaceans sucked through the pipette snout in vast numbers.
体型: 通常约 0.24 m; 记录深度可达 0.35 m (total length).
与它相处时的行为守则
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.
保育
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.
以此著称的已标注潜点
高亮显示的潜点由编辑团队为该物种标注；数字为1990年以来潜点约5公里范围内的GBIF出现记录数。
观看
来自官方渠道
Wildlife of Monterey | New film in our auditorium
Live Aviary Cam | Monterey Bay Aquarium
Live Aviary Cam | Monterey Bay Aquarium
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