Nelusetta ayraud
Chinaman leatherjacket | Nelusetta ayraudi
Distribution
Temperate Australasia
Description
Elongate ovate body with a relatively long, thin dorsal spine and three dark stripes running along the sides. The stripes are obvious on juveniles but indistinct on adults. The largest animals are restricted to deep water, whereas schools of juveniles commonly approach divers in estuaries and sheltered bays. This is by far the largest species of leatherjacket in temperate waters.
Information
Max Size: 100 cm
Sea Temperature Range: N/A
Depth: 2-350m
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 (9.5% 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: Several (7 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