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Sixstripe soapfish
Soapfish have glands in their skin which produce toxic secretions against potential predators. The toxins are known as grammistins. The secretions look like lathered soap, hence the name ‘soapfish’.Spotted grunter
Spotted grunter are wide-spread from Cape Point, along the eastern coast of Africa as well as Madagascar. They feed on sand prawns, worms and crustaceans, which they uncover by squirting a jet of water from their mouths, to clear the mud.African penguin
African penguins are found only off the coastlines of South Africa and Namibia. South Africa has two land-based colonies, one in Boulders Beach and the other in Betty's Bay.
Short-tail stingray
Like sharks, rays have cartilaginous skeletons. These flat fish have gill slits on the ventral (under) side of their bodies. Two spiracles behind the eyes on the dorsal (upper) surface draw in water which flows over the gills before exiting through the gill slits.
Abalone
Abalone is a type of large snail which lives in the ocean. In South Africa the name abalone refers to Haliotis midae, which we call “perlemoen”. This name comes from the Dutch term Paarlemoer, meaning “mother of pearl”.
Common cuttlefish
Cuttlefish are related to octopus and squid. The common cuttlefish is also known as the ink-fish.
Giant spider crab
Spider crabs are the largest crustaceans in the world.
Hagfish
Hagfish are jawless, eel-like scavengers that produce large amounts of slime to deter predators. To clean themselves, they tie into knots and scrape it off. They’ve stayed mostly unchanged for over 330 million years and feed by burrowing into soft carcasses, playing a key role in recycling dead animals on the ocean floor.
Box jelly
Box jellies are found off the west coast of South Africa and are often encountered in swarms by scuba divers.
Moon jelly
Named for their ghostly, transparent bells, moon jellies have short tentacles that are armed with stinging cells or nematocysts. Fortunately, their sting is not as toxic as that of other jellies.
Longsnout pipefish
The longsnout pipefish (Syngnathus temminckii) is found throughout South African waters. It occurs in the waters off southern Africa from Walvis Bay to the Thukela Bank on the Kwa-Zulu Natal coast.
Plankton
Life depends on plankton. Plankton is made up of microscopic plants (phytoplankton) and animals (zooplankton). Zooplankton feed on phytoplankton and drift with the currents.