The common seadragon or weedy seadragon ( Phyllopteryx taeniolatus ) is a marine fish related to a sea horse. Adult general Seadragons are reddish, with yellow and purple markings; they have a little leaf-like complement that resembles a leaf kelp that provides camouflage and a number of short spines for protection. Men have a body narrower and darker than women. Seadragons have long dorsal fins along the back and small pectoral fins on both sides of the neck, which provide balance. Common seadragons can reach a length of 45 cm (18 inches).
Common seadragon is the sea symbol of the State of Australia in Victoria.
Video Common seadragon
Range
The common paragon is endemic to Australian waters in the East Indian Ocean and the Southwest Pacific Ocean. It can be found approximately between Port Stephens (New South Wales) and Geraldton, Western Australia, and Tasmania.
Maps Common seadragon
Habitat
The common paragon inhabits coastal waters to a depth of at least 50 m (160 ft). It is associated with rocky reefs, seaweed beds, seagrass beds and structures colonized by seaweed.
Biology
These fish move slowly and depend on their camouflage as protection against predation; they drift in the water and with a complement like seaweed-like leaves that sway from their habitat. They do not have a holding tail that allows similar species to grasp and anchor themselves.
Individuals are observed either alone or in pairs; eating on small crustaceans and other zooplankton by sucking prey into their toothless mouth. Like a seahorse, a male seadragon is a sex that cares about a growing egg. Females put about 120 eggs into a pond located at the bottom of a male tail. Eggs are fertilized and carried by males about a month before they hatch. Young children are independent at birth, start eating afterwards. General swimmers take about 28 months to reach sexual maturity, and can live up to six years.
Breeding in captivity is relatively rare because researchers have not yet understood what biological or environmental factors trigger them to reproduce. Survival rates for young seadragons are generally low in the wild, but about 60% are in captivity.
The Pacific Aquarium in Long Beach, California, and the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, Tennessee in the United States, and the Melbourne Aquarium in Melbourne, Australia are among the few facilities in the world that have successfully cultivated common marine fish in captivity, though others sometimes lay eggs. In March 2012, the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, USA, announced a successful breeding event of the general seadragons. In July 2012, the Monterey Bay Aquarium has also managed to raise and hatch the general baby seadragons at the show.
Threat
Common seadragon is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List 2006. While common seadragon is a desirable species in international aquarium trade, the volume of wildly caught individuals is small and therefore not a major threat. In contrast, habitat loss and degradation due to human activities and pollution threaten general seadragons.
The loss of suitable seagrass beds, coupled with the characteristics of natural history that make them a poor spreader, puts the future risks of the seadragon population. This species is not currently a victim of bycatch or a trade target in Traditional Chinese Medicine, two activities that currently pose a threat to many sea horses and related pipefish populations.
Preservation
It is illegal to extract or export these species in most of the countries in which they occur. Seadragon sighting database, known as 'Dragon Search' has been established with support from the Marine and Coastal Communities Network (MCCN), Threatened Species Network (TSN) and the Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS), which encourages divers to report sightings.. Population monitoring can provide an indication of local water quality and seadragons can also be an important 'seed' species for the richness of unique flora and fauna that is often overlooked on the southern coast of Australia.
A captive breeding program has been available for the skinny seadragon, led by Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium. The dragon has been difficult to breed in captivity, although by 2015 the study of observing creatures in the wild and attempting to replicate conditions in captivity have researchers making changes to light, water temperature and water flow prove to be key.
In December 2015 the Melbourne aquarium has hatching eggs and aquarium bird aquarium populations that increase significantly, reporting in March 2016 that 45 fry will still be strong - a result that represents a 95 percent survival rate.
Related species
Common seadragon is in the subfamily of Syngnathinae, which contains all pipefish. It is most closely related to other members of its genus, the ruby ​​seadragon ( Phyllopteryx dewysea ), as well as the leafy seadragon ( Phycodurus eques ). Haliichthys taeniophorus , sometimes referred to as a "seadragon band" is not closely related (it does not form a true monophyletic clone with lean and leafy seadragons).
The previous general seadragon is the only member of its genus until the description of the ruby ​​seadragon in 2015.
Ongoing research
In the November 2006 issue of National Geographic magazine, marine biologist Greg Rouse is reportedly investigating DNA variations from two species of seadragon in their range.
References
This article incorporates text from the ARKive fact file "Common seadragon" under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported and GFDL License.
External links
- Common seadragon media in ARKive
- Australian Museum Online - Leafy and Weedy Seadragons
- Leafy Seadragons and Weedy Seadragons
- Weedy Marine Drill Program at Botany Bay
- The Leafy Sea Dragon Festival
- Weedy Sea Dragon
- Youtube Male Weedy Seadragon with egg
- Youtube Weedy Seadragon
- Weedy Sea Dragon man brings eggs
- Weedy The BBC sees videos, news and facts
- Australian Fish: Phyllopteryx taeniolatus
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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