Leafy Sea Dragon

The Leafy Sea Dragon is a marine fish in the family Syngnathidae, which includes the seahorses. The name comes from the long leaf-like growths on its body. Sea dragons are some of the most-well camouflaged creatures on the planet. They blend perfectly with the seaweed and kelp that they live in. Leafy sea dragons don't live on tropical reefs, but in the cooler rocky reefs off the southern coast of Australia. Despite their name, seadragons don’t have any teeth. They suck their food with their long mouths, just like seahorse. Their diet consists of Small invertebrates, including shrimps and other zooplankton. Sea dragons' mouths work like straws. A sea dragon waits until its prey ventures near, then sucks it up. Each day, a single sea dragon may eat up to a thousand creatures. Sea dragons have a thin tails which cannot be used for gripping. They have small, transparent dorsal and pectoral fins that propel and steer them through the water, but they just tumble and drift in the current like seaweed.
Seadragons usually live a solitary life, but males and females come togeather to breed. The female lays up to 200 eggs at a time. The males are responsible for holding and protecting the eggs, But instead of a pouch male sea dragons have a spongy brood patch on the underside of the tail where females deposit her eggs during mating. The eggs are fertilized during the transfer. The males incubate the eggs and carry them till they’re ready to hatch, releasing miniature sea dragons into the water after about four to six weeks. They are independent from the moment they hatch. It only takes about two years for seadragons to reach full size and age where they can reproduce. Many scientists believe the sea dragon family as a whole is becoming less common. Seadragons rely on their excellent camouflage to protect them from predators, such as larger fishes. The seagrass and seaweed beds in Western and Southern Australia are under increasing threat from pollution and excessive