Family Clinidae
The Klipfish, probably one of the most familiar fishes occurring in the rocky pools along our eastern and southern shoreline providing hours of entertainment to children trying to catch them with nets and buckets, is actually a very diverse group with 33 species occurring in South African waters and 175 different kinds altogether in the oceans around the world.
Klipfish’s cryptically coloured blotches blend in very well with the pebbles, shell shards and pieces of seaweed in their rocky homes. Their camouflage is equally useful in catching their prey – smaller fish, shrimps, crabs and worms – unawares.
Klipfish are in essence solitary fish, though several individuals may live in close proximity in the same intertidal pool. Interestingly, Klipfish females are fertilised internally after the male performed his mating ceremony, and they then give birth to live young.
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