Species encyclopedia

Prickly Leather-jacket

Chaetodermis penicilligerus

Biology

Like all filefish, it has small scales with tiny prickles. Its laterally-compressed body makes it easy for it to slip through the labyrinth of a coral reef.

It feeds on algae, small invertebrates, coral and anemones.

During the breeding season, the male watches over the clutch, which the female places on a substrate. The prickly leather-jacket has ribbons of skin that allow it to blend in amongst floating algae.

In olden days, local residents used the rough skin of filefish as sandpaper.

Indo-Pacific area

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