Foliated sea dragon ( Phycodurus eques ) . It is a marine fish related to the seahorse . It receives its name due to its foliated appearance, as it has long leaf-shaped extensions that come out of its entire body, serving as camouflage.
Summary
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- 1 Habitat
- 2 Features
- 3 Food
- 4 Predators
- 5 Reproduction
- 6 Morphological characteristics
- 7 Curiosities
- 8 Source
Habitat
It originates from the waters that bathe the southern and western coasts of Australia , in a strip of about 14,000 km. in length and less than 1 km. wide. It is found in temperate waters no deeper than approximately 20 meters.
characteristics
It has long leaf-shaped extensions that it uses as camouflage, and is powered by a pectoral fin on the edge of its neck and a dorsal fin near the end of the tail. These small fins are practically transparent and difficult to see, since they undulate just enough to move the animal smoothly, thus completing the camouflage of floating algae.
Its camouflage technique is excellent, not only because of its algae appearance, but also because it has the ability to blend in with the exterior that surrounds it, as well as being able to direct the eyes independently, obtaining a greater field of vision. When they feel threatened they increase in size, so that they appear to pretend to be bigger and more aggressive. Its length is usually about 45 centimeters, It can measure up to 50 centimeters in length.
Feeding
Their diet is based on plankton and algae , and other small marine organisms. Due to the composition of their diet, these animals have the ability to change their color, managing to mix with the color of the seabed of the area where they live and thus improve, if possible, their camouflage in view of others.
Predators
Its only enemy is man, by capturing it as an exotic animal or by being dragged in the fishing of other fish. Unfortunately, a considerable disappearance has been detected, also caused by pollution caused by the dumping of industrial waste into the sea.
In response to these dangers, the species is officially protected by the Australian government, which, however, allows the controlled capture of some specimens. Furthermore, the increasing pollution of the seas where it lives is another risk for the conservation of the species, which has the protection of the Australian government . It is the official marine emblem of the state of South Australia .
Reproduction
As in the rest of Hipocampos, the male will be in charge of taking care of and giving shelter to the laying. For this, it has a bag in the abdomen, similar to the kangaroo’s pouch , where the female lays the eggs that the male will fertilize and transport until their birth 6 weeks later.
While the male is laying, it is normal for some of the eggs to perish. The decomposition of the egg causes the formation of gas causing serious problems to the male to maintain its neutral buoyancy and forcing it to emerge where it can be an easy prey for predators. As a solution to this problem, nature has provided the male with a vascularized porous matrix called a brood patch. If one of the offspring dies, this membrane allows it to detach from the gas that is produced and save the life of the father and his small offspring.
Morphological characteristics
Its elegant and at the same time ostentatious appearance has a motif and is mimicry. Its foliated shape with long leaf-shaped extensions that come out of its entire body and its colors between yellowish and brown give the animal the appearance of a vegetable that wanders adrift and therefore, goes unnoticed by its predators. As if all these mechanisms were not enough, the animal has lobes in the skin that help it to give it even more the appearance of algae.
But although it seems that they are dedicated to simply letting themselves be carried away by the calm of the sea, these animals move by means of the movement of a thin pectoral fin that they have at neck height and a dorsal fin close to the edge of their tail. These thin and invisible fins, rather than facilitating their movements, serve to give that aspect of neutral buoyancy of the animals, thus helping to further improve their perfect camouflage.
Curiosities
Without a doubt, nature frequently surprises us with animals with such exceptional characteristics as the foliated sea dragon that has adopted an exceptional camouflage and worthy of winning any costume contest to the most original and, of course, the most elaborate. For this reason, this animal is part of our mysteries of nature.