Meuschenia scabra (Forster, 1801)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The smooth leatherjacket or velvet leatherjacket (Meuschenia scabra) is a filefish of the family Monacanthidae, found off eastern Australia and all around New Zealand to depths of about 100 m (330 ft), on rocky weedy reef areas. Its length is between 25 and 31 cm (10 and 12 in). In New Zealand it is simply known as leatherjacket as it is the only fish of this family commonly found there, by the Māori language name kōkiri, or by its commercial name cream fish.
Wikipedia contributors, Smooth leatherjacket; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:11:26.399917+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Meuschenia scabra (Forster, 1801)
- Name authority
- (Forster, 1801)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Tetraodontiformes
- Family
- Monacanthidae
- Genus
- Meuschenia
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderTetraodontiformes
- suborderBalistoidei
- familyMonacanthidae Nardo, 1843
- genusMeuschenia Whitley, 1929
- speciesMeuschenia scabra (Forster, 1801)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Meuschenia. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Meuschenia australis (Donovan, 1824) | MonacanthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Meuschenia flavolineata Hutchins, 1977 | MonacanthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| xix-spined leatherjacketMeuschenia freycineti (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824) | MonacanthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Meuschenia galii (Waite, 1905) | MonacanthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Meuschenia hippocrepis (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824) | MonacanthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Meuschenia venusta Hutchins, 1977 | MonacanthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Meuschenia trachylepis (Günther, 1870) | MonacanthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Parika scaber (Forster, 1801) (Forster, 1801) | synonym |
| Balistes scaber Forster, 1801 Forster, 1801 | synonym |
| Meuschenia scaber (Forster, 1801) (Forster, 1801) | synonym |
| Monacanthus setosus Waite, 1899 Waite, 1899 | synonym |
| Cantherines setosus (Waite, 1899) (Waite, 1899) | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1841076 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:42KM3. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.