Phyllopteryx dewysea
| Phyllopteryx dewysea | ||||||||||||
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The holotype of Phyllopteryx dewysea , above shortly after capture, below after dissection. |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Phyllopteryx dewysea | ||||||||||||
| Stiller , Wilson & Rouse , 2015 |
Phyllopteryx dewysea , the red sea dragon , is a marine fish species from the group of shrimp fish within the pipefish (Syngnathidae). The species was only described as the third shrimp species in early 2015 and named in honor of Mary 'Dewy' Lowe, who took care of the conservation of the sea dragon ( Phyllopteryx taeniolatus ) and without whose help the new species would not have been found.
distribution
The holotype of Phyllopteryx dewysea was caught east of the Recherche Archipelago ( type locality ) on the south coast of Western Australia at a water depth of 51 meters, other specimens examined for the first description come from waters up to west of Perth and from depths of up to 72 meters. The species occurs deeper than the common sea dragon, which is previously known from a maximum depth of 27 to 33 meters. The type locality is a mixed habitat with reefs and sandy zones.
features
Phyllopteryx dewysea is similar in shape to the previously known sea dragon, but in contrast to this colorful species with numerous colored spots and markings, it has a significantly less diverse color scheme, which is, however, strikingly bright ruby red. On the sides of each body segment there is only one pink, vertical stripe, other light markings can be found on the muzzle. The species has 18 trunk vertebrae and its body is accordingly surrounded by 18 ring-shaped bone plates that form a solid body armor. In the common sea dragon the number of these bone plates is 17, in the great sea dragon ( Phycodurus eques ) between 17 and 18. The paired dorsal spines, which are directed backwards in the common sea dragon and in the great sea dragon, point forward in Phyllopteryx dewysea . They lie on the eleventh ring-shaped bone plate. Large paired ventral spines are located on the third, eighth and seventeenth rings. The height of the body is highest at the level of the twelfth ring, behind the dorsal spines. The pectoral fins are supported by 22 fin rays, the anal fin by four.
The investigated markers of the mitochondrial DNA of Phyllopteryx dewysea differ from those of the common sea dragon by 7.4% and from those of the great shrimp fish by 13.1%.
In April 2016, researchers off the coast of Western Australia were able to film live red sea dragons underwater for the first time.
literature
- Greg W. Rouse, Josefin Stiller, Nerida G. Wilson: First live records of the ruby seadragon (Phyllopteryx dewysea, Syngnathidae). Marine Biodiversity Records 2017 10: 2 doi : 10.1186 / s41200-016-0102-x
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Josefin Stiller, Nerida G. Wilson & Greg W. Rouse (2015): A spectacular new species of seadragon (Syngnathidae). Royal Society Open Science, 2: 140458. doi: 10.1098 / rsos.140458
- ^ "First live records of the ruby seadragon (Phyllopteryx dewysea, Syngnathidae)" In: MioMedCentral - Marine Biodiversity Records. Retrieved January 13, 2017
- ↑ "Researchers film living red sea dragons for the first time". In: Spiegel Online, January 13, 2017
