Морской дракон обыкновенный: описание и ареал обитания

Species of fish

Speciesbox
| name = Common seadragon
| status = LC
| status system = IUCN3.1
| status ref =
| image = Phyllopteryx taeniolatus1. jpg
| image caption = Phyllopteryx taeniolatus in Cabbage Tree Bay, Sydney, Australia
| taxon = Phyllopteryx taeniolatus
| authority = (Lacepède, 1804)
| range map = Phyllopteryx tæniolatus range map. PNG
| range map caption = Phyllopteryx taeniolatus range
| synonyms = *Syngnatus taeniolatus Lacepède, 1804
Syngnathus foliatus Shaw, 1804
Phyllopteryx foliatus (Shaw, 1804)
| synonyms ref = As with seahorses and the other syngnathids, the seadragon has a similarly tubular snout and a fused, toothless jaw into which it captures small invertebrate prey at lightning speed. Males have narrower bodies and are darker than females. Weedy seadragons can reach in length. The seadragon is the marine emblem of the Australian state of Victoria.

The common seadragon is endemic to Australian and insular coastal waters of the eastern Indian Ocean northern Southern Ocean and the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It can generally be found along the entire southern coastline of the Australian continent, including Tasmania and other offshore islands. It can be observed regularly from around Port Stephens, New South Wales to Geraldton, Western Australia, as well as off the coast of South Australia and the Great Australian Bight. The common seadragon inhabits coastal waters down around to deep. It is associated with rocky reefs, seaweed beds, seagrass meadows and structures colonised by seaweed.

The seadragons are slow moving and, like most of their relatives, rely on excellent camouflage—the mimicry of seaweed, in this case—as a defense against predators. They lack the prehensile tail that many seahorses and pipefishes have evolved as anchors, to clasp and steady themselves; seadragons, instead, drift in the water among kelp and seaweed masses, which they blend into with their leafy looking appendages. Common seadragons take about 28 months to reach sexual maturity, and may live for up to six years. Mating in captivity is relatively rare since researchers have yet to understand what biological or environmental factors trigger them to reproduce. The survival rate for young common seadragons is low in the wild, but it is about 60% in captivity. The Aquarium of the Pacific (in Long Beach, California) and the Tennessee Aquarium (in Chattanooga, Tennessee), in the US, and the Melbourne Aquarium in Melbourne, Australia are among the few facilities in the world to have successfully bred common seadragons in captivity, though others occasionally report egg laying. In March 2012, the Georgia Aquarium (in Atlanta) announced a successful breeding event of common seadragons. In July of the same year, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, on California's central coast, successfully bred and hatched out common seadragons, on exhibit. Most recently, the Birch Aquarium (in La Jolla, San Diego, California) successfully bred and hatched common seadragon fry in early 2023.

The common seadragon is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List. More recent research suggests that the weedy seadragon may be far more endangered than initially assumed as a result of climate change induced marine heatwaves on the Great Southern Reef. Edgar et al (2023) documented a population decline of 59% between 2011 and 2021, a period of frequent and extensive marine heatwaves. This would be enough to classify it as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.

It is illegal to take or export these species in most of the states within which they occur. The dragon has been difficult to breed in captivity, though in 2015, research observing the creatures in the wild and trying to replicate the conditions in captivity had researchers making changes to the light, water temperature and water flow proving to be key. In December 2015, the Melbourne aquarium hatched eggs and the aquarium's weedy seadragon population significantly increased. The aquarium reported in March 2016 that 45 fry were still going strong, a 95% survival rate.

The common seadragon is in the subfamily Syngnathinae, which contains all pipefish. It is most closely related to the other member of its genus, the ruby seadragon (Phyllopteryx dewysea), and also the leafy seadragon (Phycodurus eques). Haliichthys taeniophorus, sometimes referred to as the "ribboned seadragon" is not closely related (it does not form a true monophyletic clade with weedy and leafy seadragons). The common seadragon was previously the only member of its genus until the description of the ruby seadragon in 2015.

In the November 2006 issue of National Geographic magazine, marine biologist Greg Rouse is reported as investigating the DNA variation of the two seadragon species across their ranges.