Yellowstriped Leatherjacket, Meuschenia flavolineata (Hutchins, 1977)

Scientific name: Meuschenia flavolineata
Alternative name/s:
Orange-tailed Leatherjacket, Yellow-tailed Leatherjacket, Yellowtail Leatherjacket
Yellowstriped Leatherjacket Click to enlarge image
A male Yellowstriped Leatherjacket at a depth of 12 m, Pebbly Beach, Montague Island, New South Wales, January 2000. Image: Erik Schlögl
© Erik Schlögl

Fast Facts

  • Classification
    Genus
    Meuschenia
    Species
    flavolineata
    Family
    Monacanthidae
    Order
    Tetraodontiformes
    Class
    Actinopterygii
    Subphylum
    Vertebrata
    Phylum
    Chordata
    Kingdom
    Animalia
  • Size Range
    The species grows to 30 cm in length.

Introduction

Adult Yellowstriped Leatherjackets are black-brown to green-brown with a yellow blotch on the caudal peduncle. The species is only known from Australian waters.

Identification

Adult Yellowstriped Leatherjacket is black-brown to green-brown with a yellow blotch on the caudal peduncle. This blotch often extends forward along the side of the body as a yellow stripe in fish from Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia. Fish from New South Wales rarely have a stripe.

There are four spines on the caudal peduncle. In males these are curved and preceded by a patch of bristles. The spines are smaller in females and juveniles.

Distribution

It is endemic to Australia. It is recorded from coastal reefs of the central coast of New South Wales, around the south of the country and north to the central coast of Western Australia.

The map below shows the Australian distribution of the species based on public sightings and specimens in Australian Museums. Click on the map for detailed information. Source: Atlas of Living Australia.

References

  1. Edgar, G.J. 1997. Australian Marine Life: the plants and animals of temperate waters. Reed Books. Pp. 544.
  2. 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.
  3. Hutchins, B. & R. Swainston. 1986. Sea Fishes of Southern Australia. Complete Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Swainston Publishing. Pp. 180.
  4. Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland. Pp. 433.
  5. Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Gary Allen. Pp. 437.