Cosmopolitan Leatherjacket
Meuschenia scabra
- Best monthsJanuary, February, and March
- How commonCommon
Photo credit: (c) On Lee Lau, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
The smooth leatherjacket or velvet leatherjacket 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. 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.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Smooth leatherjacket”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 120 records
- February: 115 records
- March: 120 records
- April: 80 records
- May: 82 records
- June: 60 records
- July: 26 records
- August: 32 records
- September: 41 records
- October: 56 records
- November: 70 records
- December: 93 records
Photos
(c) Ellen Rykers, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Colin Meurk, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Josie Rylands, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Shaun Lee, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Julia Palmer, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist 
(c) Julia Palmer, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist 
(c) Jenny Saito, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Cosmopolitan Leatherjacket, rough leatherjacket, Smooth Leatherjacket, Velvet Leatherjacket
Other scientific names: Balistes scaber, Cantherines setosus, Meuschenia scaber, Monacanthus setosus, Parika scaber
Similar species
Brown-striped LeatherjacketMeuschenia australis
Orange-tailed LeatherjacketMeuschenia flavolineata
Xix-spined leatherjacketMeuschenia freycineti
Blue-lined LeatherjacketMeuschenia galii
Horse-shoe LeatherjacketMeuschenia hippocrepis
Yellowfin LeatherjacketMeuschenia trachylepis
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).
- Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
- Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
- Species data updated November 4, 2026.
Log what you see on your next dive
The free DiveHive diver app keeps your logbook with every sighting and shows what lives at the site you dive next.