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Nippled sea fan
Nippled Sea fans are related to soft corals.
They look like small trees, but they are actually colonies of animals (polyps) living together in the shape of a fan. Each polyp has eight feathery tentacles.
Cape sea urchin
Cape sea urchins live in vast numbers on shallow reefs, where they graze on kelp and algal debris. In 1994, the urchins did a mysterious disappearing act – vanishing almost completely. In just two years they were virtually extinct in certain areas.
Cape mantis shrimp
Mantis shrimps are so named because of their similarity to praying mantises. Twenty-five species of mantis shrimp occur off southern Africa, mostly in tropical waters. They live in burrows or in rock and coral reef crevices and aggressively defend their territories against intruders.Mantis shrimps are highly specialised predators, either ‘spearing’ or ‘smashing’ prey with large grasping limbs. ‘Spearers’ hunt by ‘spearing’ soft-bodied prey e.g. shrimps and small fishes with a swift upward lunge of a barbed ‘finger’ on the grasping claw. ‘Smashers’ strike and disable their prey e.g. crabs and molluscs by using the reinforced heel of the grasping limb. The force behind the strike is similar to a small-calibre bullet and can easily crack the glass of an aquarium!The Cape mantis shrimp is the only species to occur off the West Coast. These shrimps live in burrows which they hollow out in soft sediments. They often occur in large swarms near the surface where they are preyed on by seals, hake and other fishes.Cape mantis shrimps are ‘spearers’ and have 6-8 teeth on the finger of the grasping claw. They grow to 20cm in length.Red-chested sea cucumber
Red-chested sea cucumbers live in great numbers on shallow reefs. According to Two Oceans: A Guide to the Marine Life of Southern Africa (Struik Nature, 2010), the “young are brooded in pockets in the skin and can often be seen clinging to the surface of the parent”.
Blue-cheek goby
This monogamous fish is found in the Indo-Pacific on outer lagoons and seaward reefs, over hard bottoms, as well as over sand and rubble.They are usually seen in pairs, hovering near their burrow.The blue-cheek goby feeds on small bottom-dwelling invertebrates, fish and fish eggs, by sifting through sand.Blue hottentot
Blue hottentot are plentiful off the coasts of KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape.
Because they prefer deeper offshore habitats they are not caught by shore anglers, but by ski-boat fishermen.
Fransmadam
Fransmadam, meaning “French mistress”, is an old Cape name for these fish, possibly referring to the drab dresses worn by early Huguenot women.
Endemic to southern Africa, it is a shoaling species that lives around scattered and flat reefs between 5m and 30m deep.
Guinea fowl wrasse
The Guinea fowl wrasse occurs in the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea and off East Africa.They can be seen on depth between 4 and 60m.The females are often seen in large groups, congregating on coral reefs.They constantly move and only stop to quickly pick off some invertebrates, which make up a large part of their diet.The males are darker than the female in colouring and are rarely seen as they keep to themselves.Mature males can reach a length of up to 22cm.Western clownfish (anemonefish)
These fish live in a mutually symbiotic partnership with anemones.
While most fish avoid anemones because of the stinging cells in their tentacles, the clownfish is coated with protective mucus, which enables it to swim freely in and around the anemone.
Giant red hermit crab
Giant red hermit crabs are spectacular creatures, but rarely seen.Most hermit crabs live in rock pools and can often be seen scurrying up and down beaches.These animals have soft bodies, which are protected by the shells in which they live.Without the shell, hermit crabs look more like lobsters than crabs. In order to grow, hermit crabs have to move shells.Giant yellowtail (cape yellowtail)
Giant yellowtail live in the cold Atlantic waters off the Cape. During the annual sardine run, they migrate towards the east coast of southern Africa to feast on the sardines.
Yellowtail gather in large shoals offshore, at depths of up to 110m.
Black musselcracker (poenskop)
Black musselcrackers have powerful jaws with a set of impressive teeth – four cone-shaped teeth in the upper jaw and six in the lower jaw, as well as two rows of rounded molars in each jaw.They use these teeth to crush starfish, sea urchins, crabs and chitons.