ruby seadragon
Phyllopteryx dewysea Stiller, Wilson & Rouse, 2015
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The ruby seadragon (Phyllopteryx dewysea) is a marine fish in the family Syngnathidae, which includes seadragons, seahorses, and pipefishes. This is the third known species of seadragon, described in 2015, and the first to be discovered in 150 years. It has been sighted on the coast of Western Australia. As of 2025, there are significant knowledge gaps on this species, and only a few individuals have been observed in the wild.
The ruby seadragon is named to honor Mary 'Dewy' Lowe, a supporter of seadragon conservation and research.
Wikipedia contributors, Ruby seadragon; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:17:00.690148+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Phyllopteryx dewysea Stiller, Wilson & Rouse, 2015
- Name authority
- Stiller, Wilson & Rouse, 2015
- Common name
- ruby seadragon
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Syngnathiformes
- Family
- Syngnathidae
- Genus
- Phyllopteryx
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderSyngnathiformes
- familySyngnathidae Bonaparte, 1831
- subfamilySyngnathinae Bonaparte, 1831
- genusPhyllopteryx Swainson, 1839
- speciesPhyllopteryx dewysea Stiller, Wilson & Rouse, 2015
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Stiller, J., Wilson, N. G., & Rouse, G. W. (2015). A spectacular new species of seadragon (Syngnathidae). Royal Society Open Science, 2 (2). https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.140458 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:6VFLW. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.