Ruby dragons of the seaSea dragons are unusual-looking fish closely related to sea-horses, living ex

Ruby dragons of the seaSea dragons are unusual-looking fish closely related to sea-horses, living exclusively in the rocky reefs of southern Australia. For 150 years since their discovery, there were only two known types: the weedy or common seadragon (Phyllopteryx taeniolatus) and the leafy seadragon (Phycodurus eques). Last year, researchers found another.The Ruby Seadragon (Phyllopteryx dewysea) was discovered by a graduate student who was conducting research on population genetics of the two known species of seadragon. Using DNA and anatomical analysis, this new specimen - a male carrying several dozen babies - was found to be an entirely new species. A striking piece of evidence was the colour of the animal: bright red, very much unlike the orange and yellow hues of its relatives.That we can still discover large new species just goes to show that there is a lot out there that we still don’t know.VPReferences: http://bit.ly/1CIu6s6Image credit: Wikimedia Commons (http://bit.ly/24saBCd, http://bit.ly/25GpO4Z, http://bit.ly/1RUYmHh) -- source link

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