Abstract
The exploration of Earth's biodiversity is an exciting and ongoing endeavour. Here, we report a new species of seadragon from Western Australia with substantial morphological and genetic differences to the only two other known species. We describe it as Phyllopteryx dewysea n. sp. Although the leafy seadragon (Phycodurus eques) and the common seadragon (Phyllopteryx taeniolatus) occur along Australia's southern coast, generally among relatively shallow macroalgal reefs, the new species was found more offshore in slightly deeper waters. The holotype was trawled east of the remote Recherche Archipelago in 51 m; additional specimens extend the distribution west to Perth in 72 m. Molecular sequence data show clear divergence from the other seadragons (7.4–13.1% uncorrected divergence in mitochondrial DNA) and support a placement as the sister-species to the common seadragon. Radiographs and micro-computed tomography were used on the holotype of the new species and revealed unique features, in addition to its unusual red coloration. The discovery provides a spectacular example of the surprises still hidden in our oceans, even in relatively shallow waters.
Highlights
The fraction of undescribed biodiversity in the ocean is arguably high [1,2], and new fish species are likely to be described, especially from the deeper continental slopes [3]
Phyllopteryx dewysea n. sp. is only the third known species of seadragon, and the first to be discovered in 150 years, possibly because it lives in slightly deeper waters than its relatives
Several diagnostic features of the skeleton allowed us to identify additional specimens of the new species that had been catalogued in scientific collections as common seadragons, even when they had lost colour and were unsuitable for genetic analysis
Summary
The fraction of undescribed biodiversity in the ocean is arguably high [1,2], and new fish species are likely to be described, especially from the deeper continental slopes [3]. Is only the third known species of seadragon, and the first to be discovered in 150 years, possibly because it lives in slightly deeper waters than its relatives. Seadragons (Syngnathidae) are fish of mesmerizing beauty (figure 1), with the leafy seadragon (Phycodurus eques) having more elaborate appendages than the colourful common seadragon (Phyllopteryx taeniolatus). Their ornamentation helps camouflage them among seagrasses and kelp in the shallow coastal waters of southern Australia [4].
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