A scientific expedition off the coast of Western Australia led to researchers from The University of Western Australia, the Western Australian Museum and Scripps Institution of Oceanography catching a rare glimpse of the newly discovered ruby seadragon in the wild.
A scientific expedition off the coast of Western Australia led to researchers from The University of Western Australia, the Western Australian Museum and Scripps Institution of Oceanography catching a rare glimpse of the newly discovered ruby seadragon in the wild.
After several days of searching with a mini-remotely operated vehicle in waters more than 50 meters deep, the researchers caught the first-ever field sightings of the fish near Western Australia’s Recherche Archipelago.
As they observed two ruby seadragons on video for nearly 30 minutes, the scientists uncovered new details about their anatomy, habitat, and behaviour.
This latest discovery of the fish in the wild confirmed that ruby seadragons lack ornate leaf-like appendages, a feature that scientists have long considered to be distinguishing characteristics of all seadragons based upon the two known species—common and leafy seadragons. Both species use their leaf-like appendages as camouflage in the lush seaweed and kelp meadows where they prefer to live.
Read more at The University of Western Australia
Photo credit: Josefin Stiller, Nerida G. Wilson, Greg W. Rouse via Wikimedia Commons
