Chinaman Leatherjacket

About this species

Nelusetta is a genus of fish comprising only a single species, Nelusetta ayraud. Commonly known as the chinaman-leatherjacket, yellow jacket, ocean leatherjacket, or ocean jacket, it is a species of filefish (Monacanthidae) inhabiting Southern Australia. It is fished commercially.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Nelusetta”, 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: 65 records
February: 100 records
March: 139 records
April: 110 records
May: 86 records
June: 53 records
July: 63 records
August: 60 records
September: 35 records
October: 83 records
November: 118 records
December: 113 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 45–117 m · Deepest record: 503 m

0–10 m: 7 records
10–20 m: 33 records
20–30 m: 43 records
30–40 m: 292 records
40–50 m: 610 records
50–60 m: 749 records
60–70 m: 1,026 records
70–80 m: 683 records
80–90 m: 377 records
90–100 m: 468 records
100–110 m: 666 records
110+ m: 878 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 15–23 °C

14–16 °C: 17 records
16–18 °C: 13 records
18–20 °C: 175 records
20–22 °C: 243 records
22–24 °C: 166 records

Photos

(c) Oscar Dove, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Thomas Mesaglio, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Thomas Mesaglio, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Rosie Steinberg, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Tim, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) leonie_rennie, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Tim, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Chinaman Leatherjacket, Ocean Leatherjacket

Other scientific names: Aleuteres velutinus, Aluterus velutinus, Balistes ayraud, Cantherhines ayraud, Monacanthus frauenfeldii, Monacanthus platifrons, Monacanthus vittatus, Monocanthus platifrons, Nelusetta ayraudi

Similar species

Leatherjacket
Aluterus monoceros
Scrawled filefish
Aluterus scriptus
Cosmopolitan Leatherjacket
Meuschenia scabra
Spiny-tailed Leatherjacket
Acanthaluteres brownii
Bridled Leatherjacket
Acanthaluteres spilomelanurus
Brown Leatherjacket
Acanthaluteres vittiger

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).
11,122 open-data records from 1826 to 2016.
Species data updated November 4, 2026.