Leafy seadragon

Phycodurus eques

A seadragon of southern Australia covered in leaf-like appendages. It drifts slowly through seaweed, dissolving its outline among kelp and seagrass.

Key facts

Leafy seadragon (Phycodurus eques) is a carnivore animal classified as Fish · Syngnathiformes · Syngnathidae.
Primary habitats are coast · open ocean, with a range across Australasian · Indian Ocean.
Activity is diurnal, sociality is solitary, and conservation status is LC (Least Concern).
A seadragon of southern Australia covered in leaf-like appendages.
Lives along southern Australian coasts in reefs, kelp beds, and seagrass meadows, usually in sheltered shallow marine habitats.

Habitat range map

Native rangeOccasional / Transient

Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)

Lives along southern Australian coasts in reefs, kelp beds, and seagrass meadows, usually in sheltered shallow marine habitats.

Many leafy projections extend from the body, which is mottled yellow-brown to green-brown. A narrow snout sucks in tiny prey.

It moves with small pectoral and dorsal fins, drifting like a loose piece of seaweed. It is not a strong swimmer.

It eats mysids and other tiny crustaceans, approaching subtly and opening the mouth quickly to suck prey in.

Females attach eggs to the underside of the male's tail. The male carries them until young hatch and swim independently.

The species is an emblem of southern Australian marine life and depends on healthy seaweed and seagrass habitats.