A curious visitor to Shelly Beach
I dared myself to swim in the icy waters of Shelley Beach on Tuesday 24 March and was happily surprised to find a very small dried Shortspined porcupinefish (Diodon liturosus) which someone had obviously picked up and placed on a rock safe from the rising tide. It was upside down and looked like a spiney ping pong ball but on turning it over it looked more like a small rodent stretched out over … what? … a spiney ping pong ball….?
As a defence mechanism the Shortspined porcupinefish inflate their bodies by swallowing large amounts of water in order to look larger and to help erect their spines. Their flesh contains tetrodoxin, a deadly poison, produced by bacteria which live within them.
They inhabit tropical and subtropical waters on coral and rocky reefs, as well as shallow lagoons. They hide during the day and feed at night using their beaks to feed on, amongst other prey, crustaceans and molluscs. They grow up to half a metre in length. Our specimen was obviously very young as it could fit into the palm on one’s hand, if one cared to touch it.
To whomever first placed the fish on the rock, thank you for leaving it there so that others could also examine this unusual visitor from the ocean. According to the distribution map in Two Oceans – A guide to the marine life of southern Africa, by GM Branch et al, they are not usually found as far south as Betty’s Bay. Perhaps it was the upwelling that brought in the icy waters – as well as the shoals of sardines along our coastline – that trapped it here?
Reference: https://www.aquarium.co.za/animals/shortspine-porcupinefish
And now, all that remains is to wish you all a very happy and peaceful Easter and Passover weekend and enjoyment of the autumnal weather. If you have visitors, or guests in your holiday lets, please remind them that dogs need to be kept on leads in public spaces and that outside lights should not disturb the neighbours. And, most importantly, to drive responsibly and at lower speeds on our roads!