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Atlantic's Sunfish

Some places never cease to amaze, and Tintswalo Atlantic is one of those.

While walking towards the swimming pool I noticed a glint of light along the shoreline. It turned out to be well worth the closer inspection. I spotted a peculiar looking fish which I had never seen before. We emailed a copy to the Two Oceans Aquarium and found out it was a Slender Sunfish.  The slender sunfish (Ranzania laevis) is small compared to the giant ocean sunfish (Mola mola), which attains a size of 3m.

According to Two Oceans Aquarium Curator Michael Farquhar, “The strong south-easterly winds we have been experiencing recently result in upwellings of icy cold water off our west coast. Slender sunfish are a tropical species and prefer temperate conditions. The reason for them washing ashore is probably because they are trapped inshore and cannot function in the cold water.”