Fish
Rockhopper
Pereulixia kosiensis
A small, robust klipfish of KZN's surge-swept rocky shallows that darts between boulders and pools.
Also known as kosi klipfish, rock hopper
- Typical size
- Commonly 10-18 cm
- Habitat
- Shallow rocky gullies and tidepools
- Depth
- Intertidal to a few metres
The rockhopper is a stout, blunt-headed clinid with a heavily built jaw and mottled cryptic colouring that blends into algae-covered rock. It is smaller and thickset compared with the slender open-water fishes, built for clinging in turbulent water.
It occurs along the subtropical KwaZulu-Natal coast, living in shallow rocky gullies, surge channels and tidepools where it grips the bottom and feeds on small invertebrates. As its name suggests, it moves in quick hops between shelter as waves surge over the rocks; it is harmless to divers and easily missed against the reef.