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Images attached to GBIF records (field photographs), from . Open licences; click for the record.
rough leatherjacket
Meuschenia scaber (Forster, 1801)
The smooth leatherjacket or velvet leatherjacket (Meuschenia scabra) is a filefish of the family Monacanthidae, found off eastern Australia and all around New Zealand to depths of about 100 m (330 ft), on rocky weedy reef areas. Its length is between 25 and 31 cm (10 and 12 in). In New Zealand it is simply known as leatherjacket as it is the only fish of this family commonly found there, by the Māori language name kōkiri, or by its commercial name cream fish.
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Range & habitat
The species is found from Cape Naturaliste, Western Australia, to Sydney, New South Wales, around Tasmania, and around the waters of New Zealand.
What it does
Leatherjackets have a hard, sandpaper-like exterior which they use as a defense mechanism, which causes the fish to swim slowly. Because of this, the diet of leatherjackets is atypical, focusing on slow-moving species such as sponges, sea squirts and barnacles. Smooth leatherjackets are monogamous.
Where it has been recorded
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Meuschenia scaber in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
From the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and occurrence records (GBIF.org), with Wikipedia and the Source Library. GBIF species 2406850.