Leafy seadragon: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the leafy seadragon lives – recorded in 1 country, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Phycodurus eques
Group	Bony fish
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	1 country
Continents	Oceania
Class	Ray-finned fish
Order	Syngnathiformes
Family	Syngnathidae

Where does the leafy seadragon live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the leafy seadragon in 1 country or territory across Oceania. Wikidata lists it as endemic to Australia.

Australia

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the leafy seadragon endangered?

The leafy seadragon’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the leafy seadragon?

The leafy seadragon (Phycodurus eques) is a ray-finned fish in the order Syngnathiformes and the family Syngnathidae, genus Phycodurus. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the leafy seadragon

The leafy seadragon (Phycodurus eques) or Glauert's seadragon, is a marine fish. It is the only member of the genus Phycodurus in the family Syngnathidae, which includes seadragons, pipefish, and seahorses.

It is found along the southern and western coasts of Australia. The name is derived from their appearance, with long leaf-like protrusions coming from all over the body. These protrusions are not used for propulsion; they serve only as camouflage. The leafy seadragon propels itself utilising a pair of pectoral fins on the sides of its neck and a dorsal fin on its back closer to the tail end. These small fins are almost completely transparent and difficult to see as they undulate minutely to move the creature sedately through the water, completing the illusion of floating seaweed.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Leafy seadragon (revision 1381395295), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q501644 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).