Fish
Yellowstripe Goatfish
Mulloidichthys flavolineatus
A slender silvery goatfish with a yellow flank stripe, often in schools sifting KZN sand flats with its chin barbels.
Also known as blacksaddle goatfish, bok, goatfish, rooibok
- Typical size
- Commonly 25-35 cm
- Habitat
- Sandy flats and lagoons near coral and rocky reef
- Depth
- Shallows to about 35 m
The yellowstripe goatfish is a pale, torpedo-shaped fish marked by a single yellow line running the length of its silvery body, sometimes with a dark blotch on the flank. Like all goatfish it carries a pair of sensitive barbels beneath the chin, which it uses to probe soft sediment for buried worms and small crustaceans.
Divers on KZN's northern reefs and sandy lagoons often see these fish in loose schools drifting just above the bottom, or resting in shade during the day before feeding at dusk. They are harmless, unhurried and easy to approach, making them a familiar sight around Sodwana and the subtropical east coast.