Wildlife in South Africa

Heaviside's dolphin (Cephalorhynchus heavisidii), sometimes called Haviside's dolphin after its discoverer, is a small dolphin found from the southern coasts of Angola to the Cape of Good Hope. It is one of four dolphins in the genus Cephalorhynchus — the others being the Chilean dolphin, Hector's dolphin, and Commerson's dolphin.

The potato cod, Epinephelus tukula (also called potato grouper or potato bass) is a least concern fish as labeled by the IUCN Red List, and a native fish in Australia The potato cod is also a native to many other Asian countries. It can reach a length of 8.5 feet and can weigh as much as 110 kilograms (240 pounds). Although considered harmless, the potato rockcod is inquisitive, and on rare occa

The greater crested tern (Thalasseus bergii), also called crested tern or swift tern, is a tern in the family Laridae that nests in dense colonies on coastlines and islands in the tropical and subtropical Old World. Its five subspecies breed in the area from South Africa around the Indian Ocean to the central Pacific and Australia, all populations dispersing widely from the breeding range after

Bryde's whale (/ˈbrʊdəz/ BRUU-dəz), or the Bryde's whale complex, putatively comprises three species of rorqual and maybe four. The "complex" means the number and classification remains unclear because of a lack of definitive information and research. The common Bryde's whale (Balaenoptera brydei, Olsen, 1913) is a larger form that occurs worldwide in warm temperate and tropical waters, and th

The puffadder shyshark (Haploblepharus edwardsii) is a species of catshark, belonging to the family Scyliorhinidae, endemic to the temperate waters off the coast of South Africa. This common shark is found on or near the bottom in sandy or rocky habitats, from the intertidal zone to a depth of 130 m (430 ft). Typically reaching 60 cm (24 in) in length, the puffadder shyshark has a slender, flatt

The common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) is a mollusc belonging to the class Cephalopoda. Octopus vulgaris is the most studied of all octopus species.

Corynactis annulata, the strawberry anemone, is a bright pink colonial anthozoan similar in body form to sea anemones and scleractinian stony corals. Unlike the true sea anemones, this species is a colonial animal of the order Corallimorpharia.

The dark shyshark or pretty Happy (Haploblepharus pictus) is a species of catshark, belonging to the family Scyliorhinidae, endemic to the temperate waters off southern Namibia and western South Africa. It is benthic in nature and inhabits shallow, inshore waters and favors rocky reefs and kelp forests. Growing to 60 cm (24 in) long, this small, stocky shark has a wide, flattened head with a rou

Jasus lalandii (also called the Cape rock lobster or West Coast rock lobster) is a species of spiny lobster found off the coast of Southern Africa. It is not known whom the specific epithet lalandii commemorates, although it may be the French astronomer Jérôme Lalande.

The Portuguese man o' war (Physalia physalis), also known as the man-of-war or bluebottle, is a marine hydrozoan found in the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean. It was once thought that there was only one species in the genus Physalia, which in turn would make it the only genus in the family Physaliidae. But recently, through whole genome sequencing, researchers discovered that 4 species ex

The sharptooth houndshark, or spotted gully shark (Triakis megalopterus), is a species of houndshark, belonging to the family Triakidae, found in shallow inshore waters from southern Angola to South Africa. Favoring sandy areas near rocky reefs and gullies, it is an active-swimming species that usually stays close to the bottom. This robust shark reaches 1.7 m (5.6 ft) in length and has charact

The African fish eagle (Icthyophaga vocifer) or the African sea eagle is a large species of eagle found throughout sub-Saharan Africa wherever large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply occur. It is the national bird of Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. As a result of its large range, it is known in many languages. Examples of names include: Vis Arend in Afrikaans, nkwazi in Ch