Leafy Seadragon

Popularly known as “leafies,” leafy sea dragons are part of the Syngnathidae family, which also includes seahorses and pipefish. These ornately camouflaged creatures live amongst the golden kelp forests and seaweed forests of the Great Southern Reef.

Adorned with delicate, leaf-like appendages over their entire body, they are perfectly outfitted to blend in with their surroundings. Their leafy appendages are solely used as elements of disguise to give the illusion that they are a floating piece of seaweed.

In order to move, this species uses two fins — one dorsal and one pectoral that are so thin they are almost transparent. They are often brown to yellow in body colour with white stripes along their torsos and olive coloured speckles along their appendages.

Like seahorses, seadragon males are responsible for childbearing while the female seadragons deposit their eggs to a spongy brood patch underneath the males’ tails while mating. The eggs hatch after about six weeks then the miniature dragons are released depending on water conditions. From the moment they hatch, the seadragons are completely independent.