Fan-bellied leatherjacket (Monacanthus chinensis)

Scientific name: Monacanthus chinensis Osbeck, 1765

The Fan-bellied leatherjacket (Monacanthus chinensis) is a marine fish of the family Monacanthidae. Native range: Indo-Pacific, Malaysia and Indonesia to Samoa, north to southern Japan, south to northwestern Australia and New South Wales.

Biology

Inhabits estuaries and on coastal and offshore reefs; also on weed bottoms and on trawling grounds. Found on muddy or silty substrates. Is an omnivore which feeds mainly on seagrass, algae, gammarid amphipods and caridean shrimps as well as on bryozoans, hydroids, ascidians, copepods, caprellid amphipods and tanaidaceans.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name: Monacanthus chinensis
Family: Monacanthidae (Filefishes)
Order: Tetraodontiformes (Puffers and Filefishes)
Class: Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length: 38.0
Depth range: 3–12 m (10–39 ft)
Environment: Marine; reef-associated; depth range 3 - 12 m
Climate: Tropical
Distribution: Indo-Pacific: Malaysia and Indonesia to Samoa, north to southern Japan, south to northwestern Australia and New South Wales.
Conservation status (IUCN): Not Evaluated
Threat to humans: Harmless
Uses: Fisheries: minor commercial
Resilience: Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.)

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Last updated 27 September 2026