Leafy Sea Dragons - Elusive and Undetectable.

When we were looking at the sea dragons during the trip, most of us could spot the weedy sea dragon quite easily, due to its unique twig/ weed-like structure. However, we had some trouble spotting its more elusive cousin, the leafy sea dragon. After a long search, we finally spotted it hiding among the seaweed. 

The leafy sea dragon has structural adaptations to help it survive in the sea. It has leafy protrusions from its head, body and tail which enables them to blend with the plants in their environment as the leafy sea dragons look like, well, leaves. 

This means that when a predator of the leafy sea dragon swims past, it will not notice the leafy sea dragon as not only is the the structure of the leafy sea dragon similar to seaweed, the brown and yellow colors of the sea dragon are also alike to the colour of the seaweed, therefore making it very hard to spot.

A picture of a leafy sea dragon. Notice the leaf like protrusions all over its body that aids it in camouflage.