Rare Ruby Seadragon First Time In Video – Movement & Feeding Recorded Off Coast of Australia

Ruby seadragon, scientific name Phyllopteryx dewysea, has been captured in video off the coast of Australia. This elusive creature is the cousin of the common seadragon and the leafy seadragon but has no extravagant appendages. No one knew that the ruby seadragon existed until February 2015 when it was discovered from preserved tissues and remnants from fishing nets. This exclusive video allowed scientists to study the seadragon completely including its unique movements and feeding.

A remote operated underwater vehicle was used by researchers from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, at the University of California, San Diego, according to CNET. Researchers scoured the waters along Western Australia's Recherche Archipelago to search for ruby seadragons in April 2016. After 4 painstaking dives that took the unmanned vehicle to a depth of 55 feet, they finally spotted the elusive creature. The vehicle followed the first ruby seadragon until they saw another one. Researchers were able to capture two seadragons move and feed despite strong ocean swells.

Weedy and leafy seadragons live in shallow waters up to 50 meters or 165 feet but the ruby seadragon lives deeper even below 50 meters. According to the video, red seadragons live in sponge reefs unlike weedy and leafy kinds that call algal reefs, seagrass and kelp their home. Similar to all seadragons, the ruby seadragon uses a snapping movement to feed.

Scripps marine biologists Josefin Stiller and Greg Rouse as well as Nerida Wilson of the Western Australian Museum have discovered in 2015 that the ruby seadragon indeed has a distinct red color. It uses this color to hide among the sea floor; the animal is able to absorb all other colors completely.

New Scientist also featured the discovery of the ruby seadragon and noted a very unusual feature of the creature and that is its curled tail. Scientists called it a prehensile tail which is useful for gripping objects anchored on the sea floor to prevent it from being swept away. The tail also helps balance the seadragon as it moves along the strong current.

The original sample of a ruby seadragon was around 23 to 25 centimeters (9 to 10 inches) long. Thus this seadragon variety is smaller than the leafy seadragon which is 35 centimeters or 13.8 inches long and the leafy seadragon which is 46 centimeters or 18 inches in length.