A stunning shot of a male weedy sea dragon incubating eggs has earned amateur photographer Richard Wylie, from Safety Beach in Victoria, the 2013 Australian Museum New Scientist Eureka Prize for Science Photography.
The Eureka Prize is Richard’s second major award for his photographs of the intriguing sea creatures, which live in Victoria’s Port Phillip Bay.
For Mr Wylie, the opportunity to take pictures of the sea dragons (Phyllopteryx taeniolatus) represents a happy collision of hobby, work and study. He is a marine biologist and director of the Euakafa Island Research Centre, a marine science study centre in Tonga.