Leafy Seadragon

“And the Lord God said to the woman, ‘What is this you have done?’ The woman said, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate’.” [Genesis 3:13]

The leafy seadragon is a marine fish in the same family as seahorses and is found along the southern and western coasts of Australia. It gets its name from its interesting appearance. This sea creature has the ultimate camouflage outfit! It has long, leaf-like appendages growing out all over its body. These protrusions don’t help it to swim but are simply for helping it hide from predators. The leafy seadragon does have pectoral fins on its neck and a dorsal fin near the end of its tail, but these fins are transparent and difficult to see. As it slowly moves about, it has the appearance of floating like seaweed. This illusion helps it blend in to its environment. It can even change its color to match its surroundings.

The name for this fish comes from its resemblance to the mythical dragon. Seadragons grow to be about 8 to 10 inches long and mostly eat plankton and small crustaceans. They have long, pipe-like snouts like the seahorse, through which they suck up small bits of food. Unlike the seahorse, seadragons do not have curled tails that can hang on to objects. They actually don’t move very much and have been observed staying in one place for up to 68 hours.

The greatest threat to these beautiful creatures is man. Some people catch them to use in alternative medicine. Others simply are fascinated by them and capture them to put in aquariums, though they are difficult to maintain. Pollution has negatively hurt these little fish, and they are now officially protected by the government of Australia. In fact, the leafy seadragon is the official marine emblem of the state of South Australia.

The Bible speaks of another dragon that is a master of camouflage. Satan does not directly reveal himself but uses a variety of means to hide and deceive. From Eve in the Garden of Eden to our day, the devil is seeking to lead us astray through trickery. Jesus warns us, “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand” (Matthew 24:24,25). As the coming of Jesus moves closer, look carefully at the claims of Christians. Not everything you see is truth.