Two photos of the same porky, showing their remarkable ability to quickly change colour. Both photos Haupt Cloete.
Tasseled scorpionfish in shallow water at Long Beach. Photo Phil Parr
The porky belongs to the file fishes (family Monacanthidae), some which are known to be able to change their colour - or more accurately, the fish can become darker with the markings showing up more. The two photos shown are of the same fish and clearly show how different they can appear! This fish was seen at A-Frame.
Tasseled scorpionfish Scorpaenopsis oxycephala
By now this fish is not an unusual sight in False Bay, but this sighting, at Long Beach, is unusual in that it was in shallow waters, about 6m - up to now it has been seen only in waters at least 15m deep. Long Beach is also the furthest north it has been seen in False Bay.
Smiths' Sea Fishes, MM Smith and PC Heemstra, 1986.
Coastal Fishes of Southern Africa, PC Heemsta and E Heemstra, 2004.