"b — • — 



"b — - 



m^e Leaf}) Sea-dragon 



HERBERT M. HALE 



South Australian Museum 



Leafy Sea- dragon 



Phyllopteryx eques 



/ 



f. — 



Photograph by the author; two-fifths natural size 



I 



In Aquatic Life, Volume I, page n, 

 mention is made of an Australian sea- 

 horse as a remarkable instance of pro- 

 tective imitation. The photograph ac- 

 companying this note shows a particu- 

 larly large and perfect example of the 

 Leafy Sea-dragon, Phyllopteryx eques, a 



South Australian member of the group. 

 The foliaceous apendages greatly re- 

 semble the weeds amongst which the fish 

 lives. Gunther, in describing this species 

 (Proceedings of the Zoological Society, 

 1865, page 327), remarks: "Its form 

 is still more extraordinary than that of 



