Sea Dragons

Seahorses and sea dragons have long been my favorite exhibits at regional aquariums.  Perhaps it is their peaceful nature, perhaps it is their slow, swaying movements that I find so captivating.  While fish dart back and forth through their tanks, seahorses and sea dragons seem to have an inner peace about them, as though they are in sync with the cadence of nature.  Watching them is akin to contemplating trees gently swaying in the soft wind, keeping time to the earth's inner songs.  Perhaps they are among the few creatures who have learned how to be a part of, instead of merely living on, the earth.

Photo by Jeffrey Jeffords, copyrighted 2002

Photo by Jeffrey Jeffords, copyrighted 2002

Sea Dragon Facts  (from National Geographic's website)

"Sea dragons are some of the most ornately camouflaged creatures on the planet. Adorned with gossamer, leaf-shaped appendages over their entire bodies, they are perfectly outfitted to blend in with the seaweed and kelp formations they live amongst.

"Endemic to the waters off south and east Australia, leafy and weedy sea dragons are closely related to seahorses and pipefish. Leafies are generally brown to yellow in body color with spectacular olive-tinted appendages. Weedies have less flamboyant projections and are usually reddish in color with yellow spots. Sea dragons have very long, thin snouts; slender trunks covered in bony rings; and thin tails which, unlike their seahorse cousins, cannot be used for gripping. They have small, transparent dorsal and pectoral fins that propel and steer them awkwardly through the water, but they seem quite content to tumble and drift in the current like seaweed. Leafies grow to a length of about 14 inches (35 centimeters), while the slightly larger weedies can grow up to 18 inches (46 centimeters) long.

"As with sea horses, sea dragon males are responsible for childbearing. But instead of a pouch, like sea horses have, male sea dragons have a spongy brood patch on the underside of the tail where females deposit their bright-pink eggs during mating. The eggs are fertilized during the transfer from the female to the male. The males incubate the eggs and carry them to term, releasing miniature sea dragons into the water after about four to six weeks."


For a video of these amazing creatures, click here.