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Rough Leatherjacket
Scobinichthys granulatus (Shaw, 1790)
A Rough Leatherjacket at a depth of 12 m, Fly Point, New South Wales, July 2003. Photo © D. Harasti. View larger image.
A Rough Leatherjacket at a depth of 20 m, Long Reef, Sydney, New South Wales, September 2001. Photo © E. Schlögl. View larger image.
A Rough Leatherjacket at a depth of 12 m Halifax Park, Port Stephens, New South Wales, January 2000. Photo © D. & L. Atkinson. View larger image.
A Rough Leatherjacket at a depth of 15 m, "The Docks", Jervis Bay, New South Wales, March 2001. Photo © E. Schlögl. View larger image.
A juvenile Rough Leatherjacket at a depth of 4 m, Rye Pier, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, December 2007. Photo © J. Roberts. View larger image.
The Rough Leatherjacket has a compressed body, an acutely pointed snout and a small mouth. It is covered with course scales that make the skin very rough to touch.
The colour of this species is variable from brown to greenish, grey or white. It usually has a dark blotch above the pectoral fin, three lines across the forehead and two dark bars on the "corners" of the caudal fin. There are usually other brown and blue markings. Juveniles often have a series of dark blotches along the side of the body.
The Rough Leatherjacket grows to 35 cm in length.
It occurs in shallow temperate marine waters from southern Queensland, around the south of the country and north to the central coast of Western Australia.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
S. granulatus is the only species in the genus Scobinichthys.
Related links
- View the Leatherjackets list
- View the family Monacanthidae list
Further reading
- Edgar, G.J. 1997. Australian Marine Life: the plants and animals of temperate waters. Reed Books. Pp. 544.
- Hutchins, J.B., 2001 Monacanthidae. Filefishes (leatherjackets). in Carpenter, K.E. & V.H. Niem (Eds). FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. Volume 6. Bony Fishes part 4 (Labridae to Latimeriidae), estuarine crocodiles, sea turtles, sea snakes and marine mammals. FAO, Rome. Pp. iii-v, 3381-4218.
- 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. 2000. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Gary Allen. Pp. 437.
