Fish

John Brown

Gymnocrotaphus curvidens

A plump, endemic reef seabream of southern African waters, known to anglers and divers as janbruin.

Also known as janbruin, john brown bream

John Brown
Photo: Georgina Jones · CC BY-SA 4.0
Habitat
Rocky reefs, endemic to South Africa

The John Brown, or janbruin, is a seabream endemic to South Africa, with a notably plump body and a naked cheek below the eye. It is a reef-associated fish that turns up regularly over rocky ground along the southern and eastern Cape coast.

Like its seabream relatives it favours structured reef, where it is a familiar sight to divers working the same ledges and gullies.

Seen at these spots