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Toothbrush Leatherjacket
Acanthaluteres vittiger (Castelnau, 1873)
A male Toothbrush Leatherjacket at a depth of 19m, Wattamolla Reef, off Royal National Park, New South Wales, July 2001. View larger image.
Above and below: A female Toothbrush Leatherjacket at a depth of 15m, Fly Point, Port Stephens, New South Wales, August 2003. View larger image.
Male Toothbrush Leatherjackets can be recognised by the patch of bristles on the sides of the body. Females and juveniles lack these bristles.
The colouration of this species is highly variable. Males are yellow to grey often with a black head and a broad white area from the eye to the bristles.
Female and juvenile Toothbrush Leatherjackets are brown to green with spots and blotches.
This species grows to 32cm in length.
The Toothbrush Leatherjacket lives in a range of habitats from shallow seagrass beds to rocky reefs at depths around 40m.
It is found in temperate marine waters of Australia from the central coast of New South Wales around the south of the country to south-western Western Australia.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
Further reading
- Hutchins, J.B. in Gomon, M.F, Glover, C.J.M. & R.H. Kuiter (Eds). 1994. The Fishes of Australia's South Coast. State Print, Adelaide. Pp. 992.
- Hutchins, B. & R. Swainston. 1986. Sea Fishes of Southern Australia. Complete Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Swainston Publishing. Pp. 180.
- Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland. Pp. 433. Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Gary Allen. Pp. 437.
