Meuschenia hippocrepis
Horseshoe leatherjacket
Meuschenia hippocrepis, Adelaide, SA, Photo: Graham Edgar
Meuschenia hippocrepis, Flinders Is, TAS, Photo: Andrew Green
Meuschenia hippocrepis, Perth, WA, Photo: Tom Davis
Meuschenia hippocrepis, Busselton, WA, Photo: Graham Edgar
Meuschenia hippocrepis, Kangaroo Island, SA, Photo: Antonia Cooper
Meuschenia hippocrepis, juvenile, St Leonards, Vic, Photo: Andrew Green
Similar Species
Distribution
Temperate Australasia
Description
Colourful species with blue, green, black and yellow markings on the head and body, and characteristic horseshoe-shaped marks on the sides. It often co-occurs on reefs with the yellowstriped leatherjacket in the east and the bluelined leatherjacket in the west. Horseshoe leatherjackets are inquisitive and regularly swim up to divers; however, if threatened they retreat into caves.
Juveniles may completely lack the dark markings - see photo. Confirm ID by shape, presence of skin filaments, location and presence of adults.
Information
Max Size: 51 cm
Sea Temperature Range: 11.8-22.8°C
Depth: 3-18m
Habitat Generalization Index: 8.65
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: Least Concern
Occurrence: Common (42.7% 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 (3 per transect)
Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.
Edit by: Andrew Green