Ruby Seadragon

The ruby seadragon (Phyllopteryx dewysea) is the third known species of seadragon, described in 2015 from specimens collected off the Recherche Archipelago in Western Australia. It belongs to the family Syngnathidae, alongside seahorses and pipefishes, and is closely related to the more familiar leafy seadragon and weedy seadragon. Unlike those species, the ruby seadragon lacks the ornate leaf-shaped skin appendages, likely because it lives in deeper, dimmer water where such camouflage is less necessary. Its striking red coloration and rarity make it one of the most recently discovered and least-studied members of the seadragon group.

The ruby seadragon is distinguished from its two seadragon relatives mainly by color and the absence of leafy ornamentation.

• Color: deep red to pink overall, unlike the yellow-green tones of leafy and weedy seadragons
• Appendages: lacks the leaf-like skin projections seen in other seadragons
• Body: elongated, bony-ringed, with a long tubular snout
• Tail: prehensile, unlike the non-grasping tails of the other two seadragon species
• Size: known specimens around 10-15 cm Its red coloration is thought to render it nearly invisible in the deeper, red-light-poor water it inhabits.

The ruby seadragon is known from waters off the southern coast of Western Australia, particularly around the Recherche Archipelago, at depths greater than most seadragon records - roughly 50 m or more. This is notably deeper than the shallow reef and seaweed habitats typically used by the leafy and weedy seadragons. Its deeper-water habitat and rarity in surveys mean much about its precise environmental preferences remains poorly documented, though it is presumed to associate with rocky reef and rubble areas similar to its shallower relatives.

Very little direct behavioral observation exists for the ruby seadragon due to its depth and rarity, but as a syngnathid it is presumed to share the general habits of other seadragons: slow, drifting movement propelled by small fins, and feeding on tiny crustaceans such as mysid shrimp sucked in through its tubular snout. Its possession of a prehensile tail - absent in the leafy and weedy seadragons - suggests it may anchor to structure in a manner more similar to seahorses. As with related species, reproduction likely involves the male carrying and brooding fertilized eggs, though details specific to this species have not been documented.