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Scribbled Leatherjacket
Aluterus scriptus (Osbeck, 1765)
A 15cm Scribbled Leatherjacket caught at the surface, Bermagui Harbour, New South Wales, February 2001.
The Scribbled Leatherjacket has an elongate, compressed body. The long snout has a concave profile, both above and below. The mouth is small and upturned. The caudal fin is large and rounded. The body is yellow, brown or grey, with blue lines, and blue and black spots.
The Scribbled Leatherjacket is the longest Australian leatherjacket species. It grows to a total length of 1m (information on total length vs standard length).
Adults live on coastal reefs in waters 20m or more in depth. Juveniles, such as that in the images, are pelagic. They often swim in a vertical, head-down position with drifting vegetation, which they presumably mimic.
It eats a range of foods including algae, seagrasses, certain soft corals and anemones.
The Scribbled Leatherjacket is found in tropical marine waters worldwide. In Australia it is recorded from the south-western coast of Western Australia, around the north of the country and south to southern New South Wales.
Two species of Aluterus occur in Australian waters. The second is the Unicorn Leatherjacket Aluterus monoceros (Linnaeus, 1758).
Further reading
- Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland. Pp. 433.
- Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Gary Allen. Pp. 437.
- Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 557. (as Scrawled Leatherjacket)
