Weedy seadragon
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
Male weedy seadragons guard eggs beneath their tails.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Weedy seadragon
- Scientific name
- Phyllopteryx taeniolatus
- Japanese name
- ウィーディシードラゴン
- Group
- Ocean animals
- Order
- Syngnathiformes
- Family
- Syngnathidae
- Genus
- Phyllopteryx
A member of the pipefish family from the coasts of southern Australia. Leaf-like flaps grow here and there on its body.
The leafy flaps are not fins but changed skin. They help it blend in with seaweed and stay safe.
Pretending to be a torn-off piece of seaweed, it sneaks up on small creatures and sucks them in all at once with its straw-like mouth.
How the Weedy seadragon lives
They usually live apart rather than in groups. Hard plates around their bodies limit movement, so they are poor swimmers. Newly hatched young can already feed themselves.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web葛西臨海水族園Basic data
- Size
- Total length: 30 cm
- Diet
- Small fish, crustaceans, and other foods
- Range
- Coasts of southern Australia and Tasmania
Where the Weedy seadragon has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- ウィーディシードラゴン
- 简体中文
- 草海龙
- 繁體中文
- 草海龍
- 한국어
- 풀잎해룡
- Español
- Dragón marino común
- Français
- Dragon de Mer Commun
- Deutsch
- Seedrache
- Português (Brasil)
- Dragão-marinho-comum
- Italiano
- Drago marino comune
- العربية
- تنين البحر العشبي
- Tiếng Việt
- Hải long cỏ
- Русский
- Конёк-тряпичник
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 葛西臨海水族園 — ウィーディシードラゴンChecked: 2026-11-03
- University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web — Phyllopteryx taeniolatusChecked: 2026-11-03
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
Report a mistakeWhen you meet the Weedy seadragon, look for this
- Look for the movements of the hard-to-see, transparent pectoral and dorsal fins.
- Look for a red body dotted with yellow spots.
Animals do different things from day to day, so you may not always see this.
葛西臨海水族園University of Michigan Animal Diversity WebEXHIBIT INFORMATION
Places that keep or show the Weedy seadragon
Zoos, aquariums and other places whose official websites say they keep or show this animal.
Kanto
Displays can change with the animals’ health and the seasons. Check each facility’s official website before you go.
RELATIVES
Others in Syngnathidae
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