Paxman's Leatherjacket

Colurodontis paxmani

Fish
IUCN: Data deficient

Usual depth2–1,518 m
Water temperature21–28 °C
Best monthsMay and November
How commonRare

Photo credit: (c) Belinda Forbes, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Colurodontis paxmani is a species of filefish endemic to Australia. This species grows to a length of 12 centimetres (4.7 in) SL. This species is the only known member of the genus Colurodontis. Juvenile Colurodontis paxmani have been observed associating with floating Sargassum rafts, where it derives part of its diet from the raft-associated food web.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Colurodontis”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 4 records
February: 0 records
March: 5 records
April: 6 records
May: 18 records
June: 8 records
July: 1 records
August: 1 records
September: 0 records
October: 8 records
November: 11 records
December: 0 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 2–1,518 m · Deepest record: 1,518 m

0–10 m: 15 records
10–20 m: 3 records
20–30 m: 1 records
30–40 m: 0 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110+ m: 4 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 21–28 °C

20–22 °C: 3 records
22–24 °C: 31 records
24–26 °C: 5 records
26–28 °C: 18 records
28–30 °C: 1 records

Photos

Names and classification

English: Paxman's Leatherjacket

Similar species

Leatherjacket
Aluterus monoceros
Scrawled filefish
Aluterus scriptus
Spiny-tailed Leatherjacket
Acanthaluteres brownii
Bridled Leatherjacket
Acanthaluteres spilomelanurus
Brown Leatherjacket
Acanthaluteres vittiger
Broom filefish
Amanses scopas

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
77 open-data records from 1914 to 2009.
Species data updated November 1, 2026.

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