Sea Dragon

Weedy Seadragons can reach 45 cm in length. They feed on tiny crustaceans and other zooplankton, from places such as crevices in reef, which are sucked into the end of their long tube-like snout. They lack a prehensile tail that enables similar species to clasp and anchor themselves. Phyllopteryx taeniolatus swim in shallow reefs and weed beds, and resemble drifting weed when moving over bare sand.
Seadragons, seahorses and pipefish are the only known species where the male carries the eggs.
The male of the species carries the fertilized eggs, attached under his tail, where they are incubated for about eight weeks. The young are independent at birth, beginning to eat shortly after. Mating in captivity is rare since researchers have yet to understand what biological or environmental factors trigger them to reproduce. In captivity the survival rate for Weedy Seadragons is about 60%.
A more cryptic relative of the Weedy Seadragon is the Leafy Seadragon, Phycodurus eques. 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.