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The Threadfin Leatherjacket is greenish brown above and pale below. It has scattered brown spots on the head and body. There are small brown spots on the caudal fin.
The upper two caudal fin rays are often elongate, producing a filament that is slightly shorter than the head length.
This species grows to 22 cm in length.
It is found in tropical and temperate inshore marine waters of Australia and Papua New Guinea in depths between 5 m and 125 m.
In Australia it is known from the northwestern coast of Western Australia, around the tropical north of the country and south to Tasmania.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
Thousands of juvenile Threadfin Leatherjackets washed up on New South Wales beaches in May and June 2004 (see related links). Mass kills of this species have been recorded in New South Wales and Queensland in previous years.
Related links:
Further reading:
- Hutchins, J.B. 1977. Descriptions of three new genera and eight new species of monacanthid fishes from Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum. 5(1): 3-58.
- Sainsbury, K.J., Kailola, P.J., & G.G. Leyland. 1985. Continental Shelf Fishes of northern and north-western Australia. An illustrated Guide. CSIRO Division of Fisheries Research. Pp. 375.
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All images: Juvenile (4 cm to 5 cm) Threadfin Leatherjackets near a fish attracting device, 8 km northeast of Botany Bay, New South Wales, March 2004. The fish were swimming 5 m to 7 m below the surface. The water depth was 100 m. View larger image.
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