Species

The weedy or common seadragon

Phyllopteryx taeniolatus (Lacepède, 1804)

This was the first species of seadragon to be recognised by western science, and is the most widespread in Australia. Weedy seadragons tend to range from brown to orange in colour with vertical blue bars and intricate spot patterns across their bodies. These spot patterns extend to their heads, snouts, and sometimes appendages, and their colours and sizes can vary. They have small leaf-like dermal appendages, which may have occasional patterning. They are larger and more red/orange along the east coast of Australia (including Tasmania), and are smaller and darker from Western Australia to Victoria.

The leafy seadragon

Phycodurus eques (Günther, 1865)

The second species of seadragon to be described are typically more golden in colour with white stripes or bar patterns on their faces and bodies, and decorated with longer, more macro algae-like leafy appendages, often patterned with dark blotches. Those living in deeper habitats are often darker or more reddish-colored. This species has a more restricted distribution in Western Australia and South Australia, with some vagrants historically reported from other states.

The ruby seadragon

Phyllopteryx dewysea Stiller, Wilson & Rouse, 2015

The most recently described species is the least well-known, especially since it appears to be found in deeper water, with the only known living observations made at around 50m. Ruby seadragons are uniformly red in colour with pink vertical bars on their bodies and white stripe or bar patterns on their faces. They appear to lack the dermal appendages of the other two species. To date, ruby seadragons are only known from Western Australia.