Juvenile black musselcracker.
Both photos Guido Zsilavecz.
Musselcrackers are rarely seen by Cape Town divers, so this sighting of a juvenile about 25 cm long (adults reach 1m), at the "Clan Stuart" was a nice one. These fish occur from False Bay to Maputo in Mozambique, and are quite rare in Cape Town waters, and SURG co-founder Guido has seen only extremely few, with this being his first photo of one. This one was quite cooperative, staying within the same area of the wreck, and although constantly moving, did allow itself to be photographed. The species occurs throughout a large depth range, from shallow to quite deep waters, and is a prized angling and spearfishing fish, which has accounted for its population to have dropped, with large adults no longer common.
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 Southern Africa, P Heemstra and E Heemstra, 2004.