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.”
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