The leafy seadragon, a relative of the seahorse covered in leaf-like lobes of skin that make it look like floating seaweed. It lives only off the southern and western coasts of Australia and is the marine emblem of South Australia.
Quick answers
What is it?Fish
Carnivore?Yes
Dangerous?No
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Daytime
Hibernates?No
Kept as a pet?No
Do people eat it?No
At a glance
Found inOceans, Australia
HabitatOpen ocean, Coast
ColoursYellow, Green, Brown
SizeSmall
LengthAbout 20–24 cm
LegsNone
Covered inSkin
Lives alone
Lives for5–10 years
Can swim
Lays eggs
In the wild
- Where it lives
- Southern Australian waters, from Wilson’s Promontory in Victoria west to Jurien Bay in Western Australia.
- What it eats
- Small crustaceans such as amphipods and mysid shrimp, plankton and larval fish, sucked up through its pipe-like snout.
Did you know
The leaf-shaped fins are pure camouflage and do almost nothing to move it.
As with seahorses, the male carries the eggs: up to 250, stuck to a brood patch under his tail for about nine weeks.
Only about 5% of the eggs survive to become adults.
Often confused with
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