Juvenile roman
Photo by Tracy Meintjies
Another juvenile roman
Photo by Guido Zsilavecz
A rocksucker
Photo by Tracy Meintjies
A blackedged puffer
Photo by Tracy Meintjies
Tracy, diving in Plettenberg bay, has a few questions:
Juvenile roman
Tracy asked: is this a juvenile red roman? About 50 in the reef.
Yes, this is correct. The juvenile romans look quite different in colour to the more uniformly red adults. 50 is a high number though! In Cape Town we see a few at most per dive.
Rocksucker
Tracy asked: I believe this one to be a rock sucker. Is this correct? Only one.
That is correct as well - this is the rocksucker Chorisochismux dentex, the largest of the rock suckers and related in South Africa.
Blackedged puffer
Tracy asked: This looks like a box fish but I have never seen one in our waters like this before, only one.
This is a blackedged puffer, Arothron immaculatus. This species occurs south to Knysna, so Plettenberg bay is part of its normal range.
Coastal Fishes of the Cape Peninsula and False Bay, A Diver' Identification Guide, G. Zsilavecz, 2005
Coastal Fishes of Southern Africa, P Heemstra and E Heemstra, 2004.