Ruby Seadragon (Phyllopteryx dewysea ) The Newest Discovery of Nature.

Ruby Seadragon (Phyllopteryx dewysea ) The Newest Discovery of Nature.

Ruby Seadragon (Phyllopteryx dewysea ): The Newest Discovery of Nature. 
Image Credit: John Turnbull (Flicker)

The ruby seadragon or Phyllopteryx dewysea is a marine fish closely related to the seahorse in the pipefish family. They discovered in 2015, their geographical origin is limited to the coast of Western Australia. The genus Phyllopteryx contains only a second species with P. taeniolatus .

Ruby Seadragon: Discrimination.

The species Phyllopteryx dewysea is only the third known species of sea dragon, and the first to be discovered in 150 years (along with Phycodurus eques , the leafy sea ​​dragon , in 1865). The holotype was a male carrying dozens of young seahorses, with the ruby red coloration . The Ruby Seadragon was captured in 2007, off the Research Archipelago off the southern coast of Australia, and the team of ichthyologists who discovered this species named it after its color, ruby, and this reddish color, unusual in these mimetic fish of the surrounding environment, would be due to its habitat in deep water, where the red tints are absorbed more effectively and the red color can help with camouflage.

The deepest record found for the common sea dragon is 33 meters, but researchers found that the new ruby ​​sea dragon lived at depths up to 72 m. Its unusually deep habitat may explain why scientists have never noticed this species until now.

With its body color, vertical bars roses on each of the 18 segments of the trunk and brands more clear , bright, are deposited on its snout. The ruby ​​sea dragon reaches a length of 24 centimeters. Sea dragons are sea creatures related to seahorses, but they have a longer muzzle and a longer tail that does not curl up.

How Ruby Seadragon (Phyllopteryx dewysea) was different from other sea dragons: 

Ruby Seadragon (Phyllopteryx dewysea ): The Newest Discovery of Nature.
Credit: seafishpool

The ruby-red seadragon is an entirely separate species, the researchers found, via genetic analysis, that the The mitochondrial DNA of P. dewysea (the DNA transmitted by females ) was 7.4% different from that of the common sea dragon P. taeniolatus , and 13.1% different from that of the leafy sea dragon P. eques .

Maintenance parameters:

Living in deep waters near the Australian coast , the ruby ​​sea dragon must be considered impossible to keep in an aquarium!

Sociability, cohabitation, behavior:

The marine species have some time-social behavior and coexistence with other species is not very often problematic, but we must always be careful with cohabitation with corals. Note that some species are downright hostile to any association with its own species.

Food:

Few details are known about the diet of sea dragons, but the shape of their mouths certainly offers an adaptation to be captured, by aspiration of small benthopelagic prey , such as brine shrimp for example.

Reproduction, breeding:

The reproduction of marine fish is almost impossible for amateurs. Only a few species are reproduced and bred by professionals.