Meuschenia venusta

Stars and stripes leatherjacket
Meuschenia venusta
Meuschenia venusta, Rocky Cape, TAS, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
Meuschenia venusta
Meuschenia venusta, Jervis Bay, NSW, Photo: Andrew Green
Meuschenia venusta
Meuschenia venusta, Jervis Bay, NSW, Photo: Andrew Green
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Meuschenia venusta
Meuschenia venusta
Meuschenia venusta

Distribution

Temperate Australasia


Description

Pointed snout, prominent lines along the head, and rows of spots on the body. Although this leatherjacket is widely distributed in southern Australia, it is regularly seen only on deep offshore reefs.


Information

Max Size: 21 cm

Sea Temperature Range: 13.8-22.6°C

Depth: 5-20m

Habitat Generalization Index: N/A

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: Infrequent (5.6% 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