Why is this animal unusual?
Like its seahorse cousins, it’s the male who gets pregnant. The female lays her eggs onto a spongy patch under his tail, and he carries them until they hatch.
Why does it look like that?
Those leafy flaps are pure decoration. It doesn’t use them to swim at all. The actual swimming is done by two almost invisible fins, one on the neck and one on the back, fluttering so gently that the animal seems to drift like weed.
Strangest biological feature
The costume. It doesn’t just look like seaweed – it sways like seaweed too.
Why is it strange?
It has no teeth and no stomach, so food passes through quickly and it has to eat almost constantly.
Interesting behavioral facts
A leafy sea dragon is in no hurry. It has been recorded staying in the same spot for more than two days.
Records held
It’s the official marine emblem of South Australia.
