Chinaman-leatherjacket
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Chinaman-leatherjacket | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.gif/180px-Nelusetta_ayraud_(Chinaman-leatherjacket).gif) Drawing by Dr Tony Ayling
|
||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
| Binomial name | ||||||||||||||
| Nelusetta ayraud Quoy & Gaimard, 1824 |
The chinaman-leatherjacket or ocean leatherjacket, Nelusetta ayraud, is a filefish of the genus Nelusetta, found around Australia over the continental shelf, to depths of about 360 m. Its length is up to 1 m. There is a solitary record of one of these fish being in New Zealand waters - a specimen of 65 cm being caught at a depth of 85 m off New Plymouth.
The chinaman-leatherjacket is superficially similar to the smooth leatherjacket but with dorsal and anal fins which continue much further along the body and each starting with higher initial rays. The body is also more elongate, and the tail has a slight fork. The tail is folded and not used in normal swimming. There is a sharp retractable spine on top. The whole body is enclosed in a tough skin studded with small sandpaper-like scales. The colour is dark yellow-brown, often with mottling, and all the fins except the tail are yellow
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Nelusetta ayraud (TSN 646216). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved on 18 April 2006.
- "Nelusetta ayraud". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. January 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.
- Tony Ayling & Geoffrey Cox, Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand, (William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1982) ISBN 0-00-216987-8
