Photo by Jeff Corbett.
Photo by Pierre Niehaus
Photo by Guido Zsilavecz
Photo by Guido Zsilavecz
The related peacock klipfish. Photo by Guido Zsilavecz
The reason why I think this is the prettiest fish in Cape Town waters is because I had the pleasure of discovering and describing it. It took quite some time before I realized that it was a new species, as it is related to a rather similar species, the peacock klipfish, Pavoclinus pavo. Both species tend to remain within an environment - a seaweed or hydroid - which matches their main body colour (or is it that they match their body colour to the environment? I tried to find out if the fish changes colour, but could not induce it to do so.) The photos by Jeff and Pierre show the fish on a sea fan, which is exactly how I found it first as well. The initial attempt at identification lead me to believe it was the peacock klipfish, which, according to Smiths', inhabits a variety of seaweeds. As I thought the fish pretty I started searching in other seaweeds and, much to my surprise, started finding other colour variants! Green ones in caulerpa (the stuff which looks remarkably like long grass), yellow ones in yellow hydroids, blue ones in blue/grey hydroids, and red ones in red algae. Looking at my images while trying to associate the various colour variants with their preferred environment, I noticed that some fish had green lines behind the eyes, others blue spots. Not only that, but the overall shape differed somewhat, with the fish having green lines being more slender, with a pointier face, than those with blue spots. I first thought this was due to size, as the green-lined ones tended to be larger than the blue-spotted ones, until I found fish of the same size showing the same characteristics. Doubts started setting in that these were the same, and after getting some more literature (especially the excellent work by Mary-Louise Penrith, still available from the South African Museum in Cape Town) I concluded that the green-lined fish were indeed peacock klipfish, while the others were not. A further search did not reveal a description which matched the blue-spotted ones, and I approached the JLB Smith Institute. The conclusion? A new species! Dr. Phil Heemsta and his wife, Elaine, encouraged me to describe the species, which with the help of researchers such as Wouter Holleman and Dr. Kim Prochazka I eventually did, and the description was published by the JLB Smith Institute.
Bluespotted klipfish are not often seen. They are only found in waters further offshore, beyond the intertidal zone, usually in 6m or more depth, and this is probably why it escaped attention for such a long time. At places such as deeper Castle Rocks and similar it is often the most common klipfish species, although it always requires some searching in order to find it, but once you know where to look for it you will most times find at least one. The fish are not particularly skittish, and rely very much on their camouflage to remain undetected, and do not flee immediately when uncovered. The photos show a few colour variations, where the pink one can be found in Plocamium, a red/pink branching red algae, and the green one in both types of Caulerpa found on our coastline. The peacock klipfish shown illustrates the similarities between the species quite well, but, interestingly enough, only the green ones share environments. The individuals photographed by Jeff and Pierre were seen on seafans, and those are usually dark purple or red - the yellow specimen photographed by Pierre tends to be more at home in yellow hydroids.
The species does not grow very large, reaching only about 12 cm in length. So far I have found them at Robben Island, Oudekraal, Coral Gardens, Vulcan Rock, in most locations in False Bay, Gans Bay and the Knysna Heads.
See "Coastal fishes of the Cape Peninsula and False Bay", available from SURG, for more details.
Coastal fishes of the Cape Peninsula and False Bay, a divers' identification guide, G Zsilavecz, 2005.
Pavoclinus caeruleopunctatus, a new species of clinid fish (perciformes: clinidae) from South Africa. G. Zsilavecz. Special Publication No.66, JLB Smith Institute of Ichthyology, August 2001.
Coastal Fishes of Southern Africa, PC Heemsta and E Heemstra, 2004.
The systematics of the fishes of the family Clinidae in South Africa. Mary-Louise Penrith. Annals of the South Africa Museum, Volume 55, Part 1, September 1969.