Leather Jacket Fish, Color : White Red

Physical Characteristics:

- Elongated and silvery fish

- Typically grows to 10 or 11 inches long

- Blue-green or yellow sheen

- Strongly compressed and elongate body

- Posterior portion of the upper jaw reaches the rear edge of the eye

- Snout is moderately pointed

- Eyes are small

- Dorsal and anal spines are connected to venomous glands

- Bases of the anal and second dorsal fins are approximately equal in length

- Pectoral fins are shorter than the length of the head

- Caudal peduncle is slender with an inconspicuous keel on each side

- Lateral line is slightly arched over the pectoral fin and straight afterwards with small scales embedded in the skin

- Skin is corrugated with numerous short longitudinal ridges giving this fish a leathery appearance

Coloration:

- Blue-green dorsal surface

- Silvery to white flanks and belly occasionally with 7-8 irregular broken silvery bands and white interspaces along the sides

- Some individuals may also have yellowish highlights and the lower belly and cheeks

- Dorsal fin spines are dusky or dark with translucent membranes

- Second dorsal and anal fins are typically clear but may have dusky markings on the lobes

- Caudal fin and pectoral fins are clear to yellowish in color

Dentition:

- Juveniles have outwardly-hooked spatulate teeth

- As the fish matures and there is a change of diet, the teeth become conical in shape

- Adult leatherjackets have small teeth with two closely spaced rows in the upper jaw containing teeth that are irregular in the outer raw and smaller anteriorly

- Lower jaw has two rows of conical teeth at lengths of longer than 16cm fork length

Size, Age, and Growth:

- Maximum reported length is 13.8 inches (35 cm) total length (TL)

- More commonly observed reaching 10.6 inches (27 cm) TL

- Maximum published weight is 10.1 ounces (287 g)

Food Habits:

- Diet consists of small fish including silver perch, Irish mojarra, and anchovies

- Also feeds on shrimps and mysids as well as macroalgae (found in gut contents)

- Juvenile leatherjackets feed on ectoparasites and fish scales through cleaning activities of other fish such as the redfin needlefish

Reproduction:

- Spawns in shallow inshore waters from early spring to midsummer

Predators:

- Larger fish including sharks are potential predators of the leatherjacket

Parasites:

- Isopod Cymothoa spinipalpa has been documented as a buccal cavity parasite of the leatherjacket

- Other reported parasites of this species include the metazoan Metacamopia oligoplites n. sp. found on the gill filaments and the trematode Tergestia pectinata