Fish
Cape Dory
Zeus capensis
The Cape's version of the John dory, a thin oval fish with a dark eye-spot, found over reef and sand offshore.
Also known as cape john dory, dory cape, john dory
- Typical size
- Commonly 30-50 cm
- Habitat
- Reef and sand on the continental shelf
- Depth
- About 30-200 m
The Cape dory is a highly compressed, deep-bodied fish, olive-brown to silvery with a conspicuous dark, pale-ringed spot on each flank. Its enormous protrusible mouth shoots forward to engulf prey, and long trailing filaments extend from the spiny dorsal fin. It occurs around the southern and western Cape over reef and adjacent sand.
A slow-moving ambush predator, it hangs almost motionless before sucking in small fish. It is rarely seen by spearos because it lives deeper on the shelf, but it is a prized commercial and line fish with excellent flesh.