Leafy Sea Dragon Information
Leafy Sea Dragons. (LSD)
Syngnathidae
Phycodurus Eques.
Found in the temperate waters of Southern Australia Sometimes seen washed up on beaches after a storm.
Found in waters to 40 meters deep.
Generally found on the areas of kelp between 4 and 20 meters depth which abound on the coastal areas of Southern Australia.
It is not known how many of these creatures are around. They may be rare, they may be threatened, they may be just very hard to find.
Very little actual scientific information is recorded. There has been very little actual specific research done on this unusual creature to date.
In early 2000 the Leafy Sea Dragon was adopted as the official marine emblem for the State of South Australia
From our observations during the last 10 years ( in excess of 3000 dives with sea dragons)and the limited amount of scientific information available we have learned and recorded the following:
LSD are known to live in the wild for up to 7 years.
They have an "exo skeleton" a hard boney plate with some spikes which they present to potential attackers, and predators..
Adults do not appear to regenerate lost or damaged appendages Known predators of mature LSD are the Blue throated wrass, most other fish ignore the LSD( or donÕt see it). The juveniles are predated by almost anything that eats larvae, including anemones They are hunters.
Their diet is almost exclusively mysid shrimp.
Males incubate the eggs.
Up to three hatchings per year per male
Hatching mostly occurs during the months of late November to early February Males and females hard to distinguish between unless she has a belly full of eggs or he is showing signs of receiving or is carrying, or has just released eggs.
Female may produce eggs for different males.( observations in 1999-200 showed one female supplied two lots of eggs to two different males over a 11 week period.) Up to 450 eggs have been recorded attached to one male for 1 incubation .
Generally males will carry 200 to 250 eggs .
Juveniles can be observed growing in the egg whilst attached to the male.
Incubation period is 47 to 49 days Ðhatching is completed over 3 Ð 3.5 days.
Most of the eggs hatch at night, a smaller percentage hatch during the day.
Juveniles when hatched are approx 20mm. Long.
Juvenile receives no parenting.
Whilst carrying eggs some males have an algae growth attached to the cluster. This appears not to harm the young, and may act as camouflage, to fool the ever-present wrass.
Hatchlings have been observed to grow to 175 mm in 12 weeks. Later sightings of this creature showed the growth had slowed. By 12 months this fish was approximately 280 mm long, and had started to fill out in the body, as well as change color from the juvenile mauve.( this little guy is the fish featured on our website) to the golden hues of the adults in the area.
Colours vary in different areas.
The largest LSD we sighted measured approximately 380 mm.
May begin breeding at 20 months to 2 years old. Youngest male I have observed with eggs was in his 3rd year.
They are very susceptible to pressure change- a sudden elevation of 2 meters or more will cause the dragon to embolise. It will die within a few days. Scientists and those collecting LSD initially destroyed many due to this factor.
The facial markings on the fish are like finger prints. They do vary from side to side. Hence all identification is done from one side only.
LSD appear to adopt a "home range". Not sure how big it really is, as some of them disappear for weeks on end and then return to a very special position and will linger here for weeks unless out hunting, and provided they are not " hassled" by divers or predators.
One individual we have been tracking is recorded travelling 2 nautical miles in 6 weeks between observation points ( and was back at the original spot again 8 weeks later)
LSD have been observed with a reflective shield (membrane) on their eyes after repeated flashes from photographers strobes. It is silver like a shiny foil. After a short time without the strobes the membrane shield is retracted, and the fish was feeding normally..
These fish have different "personalities". Some accept close encounters with divers & photographers. Others detest the presence of people and make it obvious.
Some of the fish are easily stressed. This can be monitored by the attitude of position of the appendages on the "chest".
LSD have been seen in different areas with external parasites. They do not seem to be unduly affected by the presence of these creatures. In each case these observations were made in areas near townships where there is known to be high nutrient inflows to the ocean. It is unknown what effect this may have on either LSD or the parasites.
I have not seen any parasites on the LSD on the North Western coast of Kangaroo Island.
This area is also noted for its clean, unpolluted waters.
It is the area with which I am most familiar
LSD are known to feed during daylight and at night.
Some LSD when lit with a torch will become disorientated and head for the surface. They have to be observed very carefully at night.
These notes are by no means conclusive, they are my own observations over the last 10 years, mostly from the last 8 years since we started specializing in finding the LSD for divers to see and photograph.
Some images which have been shot from the north coast of Kangaroo Island are shown on our web site
Phone +61 8 8553 3196
email: info@kangarooislanddiveandadventures.com.au
