A study on the behaviour and reproduction of the weedsucker, Eckloniaichthys scylliorhiniceps (Smith, 1943)

Eckloniaichthys scylliorhiniceps (Gobisociadae) is a highly abundant but little studied fish endemic to Southern Africa. Like other species in the family it adheres to substrates using its modified pelvic fins that form a disc. Observational data and samples were obtained near Simon’s Town, South Africa. The average length was found to be greater than first reported by Smith (1943) and is now 49mm for females (n=14) and 38 mm for males (n=17). The diet of the weedsucker was found to consist wholly of crustacean meiofauna. Internal fertilization occurs and females lay between 120 and 150 eggs on the fronds of kelp. Reproduction is thought to take place year round. Further work needs to be conducted on predators of weedsuckers, tentatively suggested here to be diving birds (such as Phalacrocorax capensis) and mid-level benthic predators (such as Poroderma africanum). Eckloniaichthys scylliorhiniceps is an important part of the subtidal kelp forest ecosystem as it provides a link in the trophic food web between crustacean meiofauna and higher-level predators