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Fan-bellied Leatherjacket
Monacanthus chinensis (Isbeck, 1765)
A Fan-bellied Leatherjacket at a depth of 8 m, Fly Point Marine Reserve, Port Stephens, New South Wales, January 2004. View larger image.
A Fan-bellied Leatherjacket at a depth of 9 m, Fly Point Marine Reserve, New South Wales, June 2003. View larger image.
A juvenile Fan-bellied Leatherjacket at a depth of 5 m, Little Beach, Nelson Bay, New South Wales, September 2003. View larger image.
The Fan-bellied Leatherjacket can be recognised by the large skin flap on the belly, the concave snout profile, the caudal filament, and by the triangular profile of the back.
It is cream to brown with brown blotches and mottling on the body, and brown bands on the caudal fin. When swimming above mussel beds, or crinoids, it can assume a dark colouration.
This species grows to 40 cm in length.
It occurs in depths from 5 m to 50 m. It is commonly seen by divers in rocky and weedy areas, but is also caught in deeper waters by trawlers.
The Fan-bellied Leatherjacket occurs throughout the Western Pacific.
In Australia it is known from tropical and temperate waters from south-western Western Australia, around the north of the country and south to the southern coast of New South Wales.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
Further reading
- Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 292.
- Allen, G.R. & R. Swainston. 1988. The Marine Fishes of North-Western Australia. A Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 201.
- Edgar, G.J. 1997. Australian Marine Life: the plants and animals of temperate waters. Reed Books. Pp. 544.
- Hutchins, J.B. in Gomon, M.F., Glover, C.J.M. & R.H. Kuiter (Eds). 1994. The Fishes of Australia's South Coast. State Print, Adelaide. Pp. 992.
- Hutchins, B. & R. Swainston. 1986. Sea Fishes of Southern Australia. Complete Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Swainston Publishing. Pp. 180.
- Kuiter, R.H. 1993. Coastal Fishes of South-Eastern Australia. Crawford House Press. Pp. 437.
- Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland. Pp. 433.
- Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 557.
