Phyllopteryx taeniolatus

Weedy seadragon
Phyllopteryx taeniolatus
Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, Bicheno, TAS, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
Phyllopteryx taeniolatus
Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, Melbourne, VIC, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
Phyllopteryx taeniolatus
Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, Melbourne, VIC, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
Phyllopteryx taeniolatus
Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, Batemans Bay, NSW, Photo: Andrew Green
Phyllopteryx taeniolatus
Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, male, Jervis Bay, NSW, Photo: Andrew Green
Phyllopteryx taeniolatus
Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, Rapid Bay, Sth Australia, Photo: Ian Shaw
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Phyllopteryx taeniolatus
Phyllopteryx taeniolatus
Phyllopteryx taeniolatus
Phyllopteryx taeniolatus
Phyllopteryx taeniolatus
Phyllopteryx taeniolatus

Distribution

Temperate Australasia, Temperate northern Pacific


Description

Closely related to seahorses, but with elongate non-prehensile tails, and the male holds eggs under the tail rather than carrying them in a brood pouch. Living individuals have an astonishing colour pattern, consisting principally of an orange-red background colour, iridescent blue stripes on the chest and numerous white spots and yellow markings. Eggs remain under the tail of the adult male for about two months; then hatched juveniles grow rapidly to a length of about 70 mm after three weeks on a diet primarily of mysid crustaceans. The juveniles are most abundant on the sandy edge of reefs near the mouth of bays. Adults live among the larger algae on exposed reefs and tend to be found in relatively deep water in the north of their range.


Information

Max Size: 46 cm

Sea Temperature Range: 10.5-23.2°C

Depth: 1-50m

Habitat Generalization Index: N/A

Also referred to as the SGI (Species Generalisation Index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here.


Conservation and Rarity

IUCN Status: Near Threatened

Occurrence: Infrequent (4.9% of sites)

Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed

Abundance: Solitary (1 per transect)

Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.


Edit by: GJ Edgar. 2008. Australian Marine Life. New Holland, Sydney