1.25.2011

bp's science: leafy sea dragon (v.1)

The other day I bought Oliver some Sea Life flash cards from the $1 bin at Target. It has been one of the best $1 purchases I've made in a long time. I've learned all about sea creatures that I never knew anything about before. Case in point, the leafy sea dragon.


Look at this thing! I mean, wow and whoa and what? It looks like an advant-garde version of the sea horse. I mean, they are related. Here's a paraphrase of what the back of the card, created by The Clever Factory, Inc., tells us:
Leafy sea dragons live solely in Australia's southern waters. Living among rocky reefs, seaweed beds and sea grass meadows, they suck up prey using their long snouts and rely on their camouflage to avoid predators. In addition to the camouflage, they have several long, sharp, spines along the sides of their body, which they can use for defense. The male fertilizes the female's eggs in his pouch and carries them until they hatch.

And there you have it. It appears to me that this is a case where reality is stranger than fiction.

2 comments:

Chap said...

it almost looks like something that an animator made up!

jo said...

I love a good sea dragon. They look like they would lose big in the game of natural selection (how is any of that getup efficient?) but they get an A+ in the camo department.

I had no idea they had spines on their bodies, though... maybe there is more to this creature than I assumed! We need to tour the dollar bin more often.