The Art of Not Being Seen

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Yadira Vega, Florida Aquarium

Published: April 8, 2009

"I've traveled 36 hours and nearly 10,000 miles so I can finally relax and hang out with all my new buddies here at The Florida Aquarium! I'm a leafy sea dragon and I've experienced one of the most unique and expensive journeys of all the other marine animals just to get here."

As a threatened species that can only be found in Australia, leafy sea dragons are very well protected and there is a long process involved when bringing in new dragons to the Aquarium.

Senior Biologist Kristen Byrne explains that it all starts with specialized sea dragon collector Pang Quong in Australia. These small creatures have the male carry their young and Quong has permits to obtain one pregnant male every year. He goes out SCUBA diving in search between the months of October to February and picks out the perfect pregnant male right before it's ready to distribute its eggs. Once the male lays its eggs, Quong sets him free and begins the process of raising and distributing these baby leafy sea dragons to licensed carriers.

These sea creatures then go through a set of long flights and extensive paperwork before they finally arrive in Tampa. "The animals themselves are $4,500, then the flights from Melbourne and LAX (Los Angeles Airport) are expensive and we also have to pay for the people in LAX to do the fees and permits," Byrne said.

Some fun facts about these little creatures:
• They have great camouflage, resembling seaweed in the water
• They can reach up to 35 centimeters in length.
• The males carry the eggs
• They eat shrimp so tiny they are hard to see
• They are extremely fragile creatures

Next time you visit The Florida Aquarium please make sure to visit our leafy sea dragons in the "Dragons Down Under" exhibit, which is located in the Coral Reef Gallery. Generous donations from our friends allow The Florida Aquarium to showcase these rare and beautiful animals to our guests. For more information, call 813-367-4018.

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