Cape Gurnard. Photo Peter Southwood
Cape Gurnard. Photo Peter Southwood
Bluefin Gurnard. Photo Guido Zsilavecz
The Cape gurnard is less often seen than the bluefin gurnard, and most of the time gurnards seen on the Simon's Town side of False Bay, for example, at Long Beach, Froggy Pond or Miller's Point, are bluefin ones. Guido has only seen one Cape gurnard so far, on the wreck of the PMB, so Peter now seeing two individuals on different dives is interesting.
The difference between the two species is not apparent at first glance, and the fish has to spread the pectoral fins (the "wings") before it can be seen clearly - the Cape gurnard having a wide margin of blue, with big blue blotches, while the bluefin gurnard only has a few blue spots in a dark "eye-spot".
See "Coastal fishes of the Cape Peninsula and False Bay", available from SURG, for more details about the bluefin gurnard.
Smiths' Sea Fishes, MM Smith and PC Heemstra, 1986.
Two Oceans, a guide to the marine life of Southern Africa, GM Branch, CL Griffiths, ML Branch and LE Beckley, 1994.
Coastal fishes of the Cape Peninsula and False Bay, a divers' identification guide, G Zsilavecz, 2005.