Fish
Steentjie
Spondyliosoma emarginatum
A small, silvery-grey seabream endemic to southern Africa, schooling over inshore reefs and kelp of the Cape.
Also known as cape steentjie, steenbras bream, steentjie bream
- Typical size
- Commonly 20-30 cm
- Habitat
- Inshore reefs and kelp beds
- Depth
- Shallows to about 50 m
The steentjie is a modest, oval-bodied seabream, silvery-grey to olive with faint darker lines along the scale rows and a slightly forked tail. Breeding males can darken and show a bluish sheen around the head.
Endemic to the southern African coast, it schools over rocky reefs, kelp beds and mixed ground from the Western Cape into KwaZulu-Natal, grazing on algae and small invertebrates and readily approaching divers. Abundant and gregarious, it is a familiar sight on shallow Cape reefs and a common catch for shore anglers.