Meuschenia freycineti
Six-spine leatherjacket
Distribution
Temperate Australasia
Description
Network of fine blue lines on the head, and yellow dorsal and anal fins. The species exhibits a considerable amount of colour variation, with the most colourful males occurring along the New South Wales coast and possessing a large orange patch on the side. Six strong spines are situated in front of the tail of males, but these are much reduced or absent on females and juveniles.
Information
Max Size: 60 cm
Sea Temperature Range: 11.6-24°C
Depth: 1 - 50 m
Habitat Generalization Index: 19.3
Also referred to as the SGI (Species Generalisation Index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here.
Conservation and Rarity
IUCN Status: Not Evaluated
Occurrence: Common (34.3% of sites)
Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed
Abundance: Few (2 per transect)
Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.
Edit by: GJ Edgar. 2008. Australian Marine Life. New Holland, Sydney