---
title: "What the sources say about the Leafy Seadragon | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "42 claims from the Leafy Seadragon profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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---

# What the sources say about the Leafy Seadragon (*Phycodurus eques*)

> 42 claims from the Leafy Seadragon profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Leafy Seadragon](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/leafy-seadragon/)

## Leafy Seadragon. Aquarium of the Pacific.

https://www.aquariumofpacific.org/onlinelearningcenter/species/leafy_seadragon

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| lives in the coastal waters off Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria | Coastal waters off the states of Western Australia, South Australia, and Victoria in southern Australia. |
| keeping to rocky reefs, seaweed beds and seagrass meadows from the surface down to about 30 meters (98 feet) | They live among rocky reefs, sand patches close to the reefs, seaweed beds, and seagrass meadows. ... Leafy seadragons can be found from the surface to depths of 98 feet (30 meters). |
| the water swings seasonally between 13 and 19°C | water temperatures are seasonally between 13 to 19 o C (55 to 67 o F) |
| It grows to a maximum of about 35 cm (14 in) long | The maximum length of the leafy seadragon is about 35 cm (14 in). (note: ADW gives 50 cm (citing Groves 1998, Dragon Search 2000, Zahl 1978); the Aquarium page, last updated December 2020, is the current institution page and wins) |
| Hard bony plates cover its body, bristling with sharp spines and leaf-like flaps | The scaleless body of seadragons is covered ... in hard bony plates. ... Elaborate leaf-like appendages protrude from the head, body, and tail. ... They have long sharp spines on each bony plate |
| the seadragon actually gets around on small, almost translucent fins that oscillate rapidly, using its tail as a rudder | They swim through the water by rapidly oscillating their small, almost translucent fins and using their tails as rudders. |
| it can sway like a plant in the current | ability to sway like plants in the water current help protect them from predators |
| The seadragon is usually solitary | Usually solitary, these fish move to deeper water during the Australian winter when food is scarce. |
| It moves to deeper water in the Australian winter, when food is scarce, and in late winter migrates to shallow bays, where groups gather to pair up and mate | these fish move to deeper water during the Australian winter when food is scarce. In late winter they migrate to selected shallow bays, forming congregations to pair and eventually mate. |
| Eggs set in his skin | She pushes them into the skin of the male to be fertilized |
| A female pushes 250 to 300 eggs, each 4 mm across, into the skin under a male's tail to be fertilized | The female lays 250 to 300 eggs that are 4 mm (0.16 in) in diameter and 7 mm (0.3 in) long. She pushes them into the skin of the male to be fertilized, covering most of the under surface and sides of his tail (note: ADW gives 200 to 300 eggs from 1998-2000 sources; the Aquarium page (updated December 2020) is the current institution page and wins) |
| Soft when the eggs first go in, his skin hardens into a cup around each one, holding it securely through a six- to eight-week incubation | His skin, soft at the time the eggs are first embedded, becomes hardened to form a cup around each egg to hold it securely for the six- to eight-week incubation. |
| When hatching starts, the male lets go of only a few eggs at a time, and he may take hours to days to release the whole brood | When hatching starts, the male releases only a few eggs at a time. He may take from hours to days to let go of the entire brood. |
| Newborns have a very short snout, no leafy flaps and silver-and-black coloring | Fry unroll from their tight position in the egg capsule, coming out tail first. They have a very short snout, lack leafy appendages, and are colored silver and black. |
| They settle on the bottom in shallow water and live off the still-attached egg capsule for about two days, until the snout is more pronounced and they're ready to start hunting | They settle out on the substrate in shallow water where they live off the still-attached egg capsule for about two days until their snout is more pronounced and they are ready to start hunting. |
| A leafy seadragon has no teeth and no stomach, so it eats almost constantly, covering wide areas as it searches for mysid shrimp, a favorite food, plus other small crustaceans, plankton and larval fish | Sea dragons do not have teeth or a stomach; therefore they eat almost constantly while covering wide areas searching for prey. They feed on mysid shrimp, a favorite food, and other small crustaceans, plankton, and larval fishes. (note: 'so' stands in for the source's own 'therefore'; the causal link is the source's, not added) |
| It creates suction by expanding a joint on the lower part of its snout, pulling prey into its small mouth and swallowing it whole, much like a pipette | They swallow their prey whole, creating suction to suck the food item into their small mouth by expanding a joint on the lower part of their snout. This feeding technique is similar to how a pipette works. |
| How long a leafy seadragon lives in the wild is unknown, though estimates say it may live seven to ten years | Leafy seadragons' longevity in their natural environment is unknown, but it is estimated that they may live seven to ten years. |
| transparent oscillating fins | They have transparent dorsal and pectoral fins that are small and have a very fine appearance |
| small, almost translucent fins do the swimming and it sways like a plant in the current | They swim through the water by rapidly oscillating their small, almost translucent fins ... ability to sway like plants in the water current |
| Mysid shrimp, other small crustaceans, plankton, and larval fish | They feed on mysid shrimp, a favorite food, and other small crustaceans, plankton, and larval fishes. |
| Rocky reefs, seaweed beds and seagrass meadows in the temperate coastal waters of southern Australia | These seadragons inhabit temperate coastal waters of southern Australia ... They live among rocky reefs, sand patches close to the reefs, seaweed beds, and seagrass meadows. |
| Like their seahorse relatives, male leafy seadragons brood the eggs, incubating them on the underside of the tail. The female presses 250 to 300 eggs into his skin to be fertilized, and his skin hardens around each one to form a cup that holds it through a six- to eight-week incubation. When the eggs are ready to hatch, the male doesn't release them all at once; he lets go of only a few at a time and may take hours to days to release the whole brood. | Like their seahorse relatives, male seadragons brood the eggs, which are incubated on a brood pouch on the underside of the tail. The female lays 250 to 300 eggs ... She pushes them into the skin of the male to be fertilized ... becomes hardened to form a cup around each egg ... for the six- to eight-week incubation. When hatching starts, the male releases only a few eggs at a time. He may take from hours to days to let go of the entire brood. |
| A leafy seadragon has no teeth and no stomach, so it eats almost constantly, covering wide areas as it searches for mysid shrimp, other small crustaceans, plankton and larval fish. It creates suction by expanding a joint on the lower part of its snout, pulling prey into its small mouth and swallowing it whole, a technique similar to how a pipette works. | Sea dragons do not have teeth or a stomach; therefore they eat almost constantly while covering wide areas searching for prey. They feed on mysid shrimp ... They swallow their prey whole, creating suction to suck the food item into their small mouth by expanding a joint on the lower part of their snout. This feeding technique is similar to how a pipette works. (note: 'so' stands in for the source's own 'therefore') |
| a sway like plants in the current | ability to sway like plants in the water current |
| swims by rapidly oscillating small, almost translucent fins | They swim through the water by rapidly oscillating their small, almost translucent fins (note: vibe.reason, settled in #224: the fast, fine flutter that maps onto fingerpicked guitar; replaces 'serene ocean foliage perfection', which named no mechanism) |
| while it sways like a plant in the current | ability to sway like plants in the water current (note: vibe.reason, settled in #224: the slow drift under the flutter, the floating texture) |

## Phycodurus eques (Glauert's sea-dragon). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Phycodurus_eques/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Predators that see through the act are often surprised by its bony exterior and sharp spines | Those predators not fooled by its blending capabilities are often surprised by its bony exterior and long, sharp spines |
| Broad, flat flaps resembling seaweed branch out from the plates around its body | Broad, flat appendages resembling seaweed branch from the plates surrounding the body |
| an adult's color ranges from green to yellow-brown to light brown, varying with age, location, diet and environmental stressors | The frond-like appendages and thin body vary on adults from green to yellow-brown to light brown ... Color variation occurs and depends on age, location, diet, and environmental stressors |
| It also moves very slowly through the water and mimics seaweed, which makes it a master of camouflage | P. eques moves very slowly through the water and mimics seaweed, which makes it a master at camouflage. |
| Predators that see through the disguise anyway are often surprised by its bony exterior and long, sharp spines | Those predators not fooled by its blending capabilities are often surprised by its bony exterior and long, sharp spines |
| Seaweed-like flaps | Broad, flat appendages resembling seaweed branch from the plates surrounding the body |

## Connolly, Melville & Preston (2002). Patterns of movement and habitat use by leafy seadragons tracked ultrasonically. Journal of Fish Biology.

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8649.2002.tb00904.x

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A Home Range of Up to 5 Hectares | All fish except one moved within well-defined home ranges of up to 5 ha (using minimum convex polygon method). |
| Researchers who tracked nine adult seadragons for 2 to 10 days around West Island, Australia found that all but one stayed inside home ranges of up to 5 hectares | Nine adult leafy seadragons Phycodurus eques were tracked using ultrasonic telemetry for between 2-10 days around West Island, Australia. All fish except one moved within well-defined home ranges of up to 5 ha (using minimum convex polygon method). |
| The odd one out headed away from where it was tagged in almost a straight line, at up to 146 meters an hour | The exceptional fish moved almost in a straight line away from its tagging location near the end of the tracking period, at a maximum velocity of 146 m h-1. |
| Long spells of up to 68 hours without moving were broken by short bursts of movement averaging 2 to 17 meters an hour | Short bursts of movement (at average velocities of 2-17 m h-1) punctuated long periods (up to 68 h) without movement. |

## Stiller, Wilson & Rouse (2015). A spectacular new species of seadragon (Syngnathidae). Royal Society Open Science.

https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.140458

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The skin flaps don't seem to help it move | the dermal appendages do not seem to have a locomotory function and are often damaged in otherwise healthy seadragons (note: 'help it move' for 'locomotory function'; the paper sampled wild common and leafy seadragons, so 'seadragons' here covers this species; 'dermal' is 'skin') |
| In 2015, scientists described a third species of seadragon, the first discovered in 150 years | Here, we describe a remarkable example, a new species of seadragon. Phyllopteryx dewysea n. sp. is only the third known species of seadragon, and the first to be discovered in 150 years (note: 2015 is the paper's own publication year (accepted 2015 Jan 12), which is when the species was described) |
| The specimen it was named from had been catalogued at the Western Australian Museum as a common seadragon, and only DNA sequencing revealed it was new | The specimen was accessioned at the Western Australian Museum (WAM P33223.002) as a common seadragon, and its uniqueness only subsequently recognized following DNA sequencing. |
| Leaf-like skin flaps that don't seem to help it move | the dermal appendages do not seem to have a locomotory function (note: 'help it move' for 'locomotory function') |

## Pollom (2017). Phycodurus eques. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T17096A67622420.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2017-2.rlts.t17096a67622420.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The IUCN lists the leafy seadragon as Least Concern | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). |