Ribboned Seadragon, Haliichthys taeniophorus Gray, 1859
Scientific name: Haliichthys taeniophorus
Click to enlarge image
A Ribboned Seadragon, Haliichthys taeniophorus, caught in Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia.
Image: Barry Hutchins
© Barry Hutchins
© Barry Hutchins
Fast Facts
-
Classification
- Genus
- Haliichthys
- Species
- taeniophorus
- Family
- Syngnathidae
- Class
- Actinopterygii
- Subphylum
- Vertebrata
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Kingdom
- Animalia
-
- Size Range
- It grows to 30cm in length.
Introduction
The Ribboned Seadragon can be recognised by its elongate body with bony knobs above the eyes and spines on the body ridges.
Identification
The Ribboned Seadragon can be recognised by its elongate body with bony knobs above the eyes and spines on the body ridges.
Despite its common name, the Ribboned Seadragon is not a true seadragon (which occur only in southern Australia), but a member of the pipehorse group of fishes.
Habitat
It usually inhabits trawling grounds.
Distribution
The Ribboned Seadragon is known from the central coast of Western Australia around the tropical north to northern Queensland.
The map below shows the Australian distribution of the species based on public sightings and specimens in Australian Museums. Source: Atlas of Living Australia.
References
- Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 292.
- Allen, G.R. & R. Swainston. 1988. The Marine Fishes of North-Western Australia. A Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 201.
- Paxton, J.R., D.F. Hoese, G.R. Allen & J.E. Hanley. 1989. Zoological Catalogue of Australia Vol.7 Pisces Petromyzontidae to Carangidae. Canberra: Australian Biological Resources Survey. Pp. i-xii, 1-665.
- Tacon, P.S.C., Wilson, M and C. Chippindale. 1996. Birth of the Rainbow Serpent in Arnhem land rock art and oral history. Archaeology in Oceania. 31(3): 103-24.
