Fun Facts about Leafy Sea Dragons & a Short Animated Movie
Updated: Dec 28, 2020
It is hard to imagine them as 'dragons' of ANY sort, but we can try for their sake - can't we not? Show some respect, people! The Leafy Sea Dragon is brown and yellow in color and the appendages are greenish-olive. They are popularly called 'Leafies' and are the marine emblem and focus of conservation for the state of South Australia. They are nearly a foot, between 9 inches and 12 inches in height. Here are some of the fun facts on the Leafy Sea Dragon, found on the southern and western coasts of Australia.
When the male Leafy Sea Dragon is ready to be a papa, his tail turns yellow! That is an indication to the female Leafy Sea Dragon to deposit her eggs on the male. The eggs are fertilized during the transfer from the female to the male and after that, the male is on his own! He is about to become a 'PAPA' many, many times over.
Male Leafy Sea Dragons are the ones that incubate and hatch approximately 250 eggs, which sit in a sponge-like patch on his tail. The sponge-like patch on a male Leafy Sea Dragon's tail has little "egg-holders", which are similar to a bowl or a hollowed space. Each "egg-holder" holds one egg, which are then incubated for 4 - 6 weeks.
Leafy Sea Dragons are entirely on their own after they hatch. Neither parent brings the baby Leafy Sea Dragons food or protects them from predators or provides them with a nest or cave or home. No one teaches them how to swim or navigate or hunt/eat.
Leafy Sea Dragons suck up food. Their long snout looks like a straw and functions like a straw too. The Leafy Sea Dragons do not chew or grind their food. They eat sea lice.
Leafy Sea Dragons have a near perfect camouflage because of the way they look. The leaf-like appendages make them virtually indistinguishable in kelp forests or seaweed. They can stay still and remain in one place for extended periods of time that makes it hard if not impossible to detect them. These appendages are NOT used for swimming. To swim, they use fins (pectoral and dorsal) that are so fine, they are near transparent.
Poaching, demand from aquarium owners, exotic animal trade, and use in alternative medicine have created a NT (Near Threatened) rating from IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature). Wikipedia however lists them as LC (Least Concern).
Leafy Sea Dragon film made by Australian Government - "The Amazing Adventures of Gavin, a Leafy Sea Dragon." Watch this wonderful 16-minute movie on Youtube! I just did! Adorable animation about a Leafy Sea Dragon called Gavin and his adventures! Made by the South Australian Film Corporation, Coast Protection Board, Department of Environment and Heritage, Marine Discovery Centre and Waterline Productions.
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