Platanna Klipfish

Dorsal spines (total): 33 - 37; Dorsal soft rays (total): 7 - 11; Analspines: 2; Analsoft rays: 29 - 31

Inhabits intertidal sandy areas near kelp beds. Buries itself in the substrate by diving head first into the sediment and emerging slightly so that the top of the head and the dorsally-situated eyes protrude from the sediment surface. Alternatively, it may lie on the surface of the sediment and use the pectoral, pelvic and anal fins, together with undulatory movements of the body, to insinuate itself into the sediment in a fashion to that of Trachinus vipera. Again, only the top of the head and the eyes are left exposed. Once buried in the sediment, the fish remains there and is able to 'swim' through the sediment for short distances without re-emerging, although it occasionally emerges to undertake short forays (Ref. 28111)

Xenopoclinus kochi, the Platanna klipfish, is a species of clinid found along the coast of South Africa, where it occurs on sandy substrates in the intertidal zone near to kelp beds at depths of from 0 to 20 m (0 to 66 ft). It can reach a maximum total length of 10 cm (3.9 in). The specific name honours the malacologist H. J. Koch, who collected the type while conducting conchological fieldwork,