One of our favourite sea creatures… the Weedy Seadrogon!
While Weedy Seadragons or Common Seadragon (Phyllopteryx taeniolatus) have been around in Perth waters for a very long time. It seems their numbers have exploded this year and they are the talk of the town for shore divers in Perth!
Some fun facts about our Weedy Seadrgaon friends:
🐉 Weedy Seadragons get their name from the weed-like appendages found on their bodies
🐉 They are found from Geraldton, Western Australia to Port Stephens, New South Whales – including all around Tasmania
🐉 They are closely related to seahorses… like the seahorse, male seadragons carry the eggs. But, unlike the seahorse (who carry eggs in a “pouch”) – seadragons carry their eggs under their tails.
🐉 Eggs are carried for around 2 months, and they hatch around 250 young ones per seadragon
🐉 Babies (juveniles) grow to a length of 7cm in the space of 3 weeks!
🐉 Their favourite food are tiny shrimps (mycid)
🐉 They are very poor swimmers, so are often found washed up on beaches after storms or rough weather after they get tangled in the weed.
Where can you find Weedy Seadragons in Perth, Western Australia?
They are found at depths anywhere between 3-50m in the local Perth coast area. Sometimes you can find them while snorkelling however; you can spend more time below the surface when scuba diving to see them. The best shore diving sites in Perth for Seadragons lately have been: Cottesloe, North Mole/Port Beach (Sand Tracks Beach), South Mole and Point Peron.
Join us on a free shore dive – we might even see Weedy Seadragons!
Our Free Sunday Morning Shore Dive happens every week! You don’t need to have a buddy to join and there’s no need to book. Check out all the details here: https://www.dolphinscuba.com.au/perth-diving/