''Cirrhibarbis capensis'', the barbelled klipfish, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

clinid Clinidae is a family of marine fish in the order Blenniiformes within the series Ovalentaria, part of the Percomorpha . Temperate blennies, the family ranges from the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, in both the Southern and Northern Hemi ...

found in

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...

waters of the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

around

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. This species can reach a maximum length of TL. This species preys primarily on

benthic The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from the Ancient Greek word (), meaning "the depths". ...

crustacean Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthrop ...

s, mostly

amphipods Amphipoda () is an order (biology), order of malacostracan crustaceans with no carapace and generally with laterally compressed bodies. Amphipods () range in size from and are mostly detritivores or scavengers. There are more than 10,700 amphip ...

and

isopods Isopoda is an Order (biology), order of crustaceans. Members of this group are called isopods and include both Aquatic animal, aquatic species and Terrestrial animal, terrestrial species such as woodlice. All have rigid, segmented exoskeletons ...

.Food items for ''Cirrhibarbis capensis''
at www.fishbase.org. It is currently the only known member of its

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

Description

*Fins:

Dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found ...

spines 37 to 44, rays 5 to 9;

Anal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported o ...

spines 2, rays 26 to 34;

Pectoral fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish aquatic locomotion, swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the vertebral column ...

rays 12 to 14;

Ventral fin Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral (belly) surface of fish, and are the lower of the only two sets of paired fins (the other being the laterally positioned pectoral fins). The pelvic fins are homologous to the hind ...

spines 1, rays 2 to 3. *

Gill rakers Gill rakers in fish are bony or cartilaginous processes that project from the branchial arch (gill arch) and are involved with suspension feeding tiny prey. They are not to be confused with the gill filaments that compose the fleshy part of the ...

(2 to 3)+(5 to 7). *

Vertebrae Each vertebra (: vertebrae) is an irregular bone with a complex structure composed of bone and some hyaline cartilage, that make up the vertebral column or spine, of vertebrates. The proportions of the vertebrae differ according to their spinal ...

(18 to 21)+(32 to 37). *

Lateral line The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelia ...

with about 30 vertical pairs of pores in front. * Body depth 5 to 6 in

Standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of fish anatomy, their anatomies, for data used in many areas of ichthyology, including Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy and fishery biology. Overall length Standard length (SL) is ...

. * Head length 3.5 to 4.5 in Standard length. *Eye 3.5 to 5.5 diameters in head length. *

Caudal peduncle Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported only ...

20 to 30% head length, depth 18 to 26% head length. Shape: The body is elongate and slightly compressed. The head profile is straight or slightly concave, with a long and pointed snout. Pores on the head are clearly visible. The mouth is wide, with thick lips. The jaws are slightly pointed and the lower jaw projects beyond the upper jaw which has a row of 3 plain barbels at the front, which are joined at the base and spread widely once separated. The 8 barbels on the chin are usually arranged in a circular group of 6, but sometimes in 2 rows of 3 each, with 2 barbels a little to the rear and further apart individually. The space between the eyes is convex. There is a prominent short palmate tentacle with from 4 to 12 cirri at the end at the upper rear of each eye, and a large, spatulate, tentacle at each forward nostril. with about four shallow, flat lobes at the tip. The dorsal fin is low, with no crest, with spines gradually increasing in length towards the tail, and the soft rays slightly higher than the preceding spines. Each dorsal spine has a cluster of 3 to 5 little cirri at the tip. The pectoral fins are rounded. The Inner pelvic fins are reduced, with the free tip very short or absent. The caudal peduncle is short. Colour: The colours are variable, but usually all reddish as a base, marbled brown, green or yellow; often with a row of dark blotches below the base of the dorsal fin, and may have irregular transverse bars or blotches on the body, often speckled with white or other shades. The belly may be pale or dark but is usually more uniform in colour, and the tips of the anal, ventral and pectoral fins are red. In most specimens there is a roundish white blotch bisected by a narrower black blotch behind the head at the start of the lateral line. They may also be pinkish, grey, or greenish mottled or milky. Fins and facial cirri are usually red. Juvenile specimens and occasional adult can be milky white with longitudinal black stripes and red fins and facial cirri. The eyes are dark with a thin reddish or yellow, not very prominent iris. The rest of eye is uniformly background colour. Small juveniles (3–4 cm) may have longitudinal bands of light and darker colours, and may be translucent. Young specimens have much brighter colours than adults. Size: Up to 350mm.

Distribution

South African endemic. Rare west of Cape Point to Lamberts Bay, common from False Bay to East London. Seen mostly in False Bay, from Fish Hoek to Batsata rock, all locations, but especially the wreck of the Clan Stuart and at Windmill and A-Frame. Rarer on Atlantic seaboard, but have been seen at the V&A waterfront off Oceana Powerboat club, and along the Sea Point coast. Depth of these sighting were from close to the surface to about 15m depth. Juveniles were seen in very shallow water (1m or less) at the Knysna Heads. Extreme juveniles and young specimens were seen in shallow water, under rocks, and in rock pools.

Habitat

Adults are mainly sublittoral; juveniles plentiful under stones in rockpools. In deeper water most adult specimens were seen at night, when they are found in areas where there is plenty of shelter between and under boulders. Younger specimens were found in rock pools

Etymology

Capensis: from Cape, referring to the region where originally caught.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2681780 Clinidae Fish described in 1836 Taxa named by Achille Valenciennes