Scientists Document the First Sighting of a Live Ruby Seadragon

By S. Rina, | January 15, 2017

The video was recorded in April last year, and the findings were published in a paper this Friday in the journal Marine Biodiversity Records.

The video was recorded in April last year, and the findings were published in a paper this Friday in the journal Marine Biodiversity Records.

A rare ruby seadragon has been captured alive on camera for the first time. The ruby seadragon was identified as a separate species in 2015. The video recording shows two ruby seadragons for about 30 minutes. The footage is expected to help the scientists gather more information about the sea creature.

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The existence of two different species of seadragons has been known to scientists for more than 150 years. However, the mysterious creature was found to have a third specie as well. The discovery was made by marine biologists Greg Rouse and Josefin Stiller in an unlikely manner.

The video was recorded in April last year, and the findings were published in a paper this Friday in the journal Marine Biodiversity Records. The seadragons were found around Bremer Bay, off Australia's southern coast.

The video was made using a robot as the depth at which the ruby seadragons are found is not amenable to scuba diving. The video enabled the scientists to deduce that the marine creature lives in a "sponge garden habitat."

It was also found that unlike their relatives living in kelp beds, ruby seadragons do not have full-fledged appendages. This is because their habitat does not require this body part to camouflage the seadragons.

 Rouse said that their most startling discover was related to its tail. "We couldn't tell this from the dead fish, but their tail curls dramatically like a seahorse," he said. The other two species do not have curled tail.

It has been found that ruby seadragons are closely related to regular seadragons genetically. However, ruby seadragons have more muscular pectoral fins. This may be because that they trawl through more turbulent waters.

The ruby seadragons were found feeding ten times during the 30-minute video. It is believed that their eating style is similar to that of their other relatives.  

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