Fish, starfishes, jellyfish, seaweed and other marine creatures live in the sea – that’s obvious. But WHERE in the sea? Here are some ingenious homes…
During the summer months we see giant short tailed stingrays at Long Beach and elsewhere in False Bay (including at the bottom of the Miller’s Point slipway). They excavate deep holes for themselves to lie in, often with sand sprinkled over their wings. The size of the hole in the picture above – with Tony swimming over it – gives you an idea of how large these creatures are. There are often shells and other debris from stingray lunches lying at the bottom of the holes.
Some homes are more sophisticated (perhaps) than giant holes in the sand. I found this tiny klipfish taking shelter in an abalone shell at Long Beach during the summer months. It’s such a refined home with the gorgeous mother of pearl panelling!
Feather stars are very opportunistic and will even stick to your wetsuit if you’re not careful (they generally come off worse than your wetsuit does in any such encounter). We found this one happily ensconced inside an empty bivalve.
