Minute Leatherjacket, Rudarius minutus Tyler 1970

Other Names: Little File-fish, Minute Filefish

A Minute Leatherjacket, Rudarius minutus, at Liquica, Timor Leste. Source: Nick Hobgood / Wikimedia Commons. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial

Summary:

A tiny bluish-grey leatherjacket with a pale brown band from the eye to the chin, irregularly-placed brownish spots on the body, and an males with ocellated spot above the anal fin. The Minute Leatherjacket has a concave snout, a relatively large eye, a movable pelvic rudiment, and skin flaps scattered over the body; males have fine bristles on the tail base.

Video of a Minute Leatherjacket at Sebumakutan Island, Cebu Philippines.

Cite this page as:

Dianne J. Bray, Rudarius minutus in Fishes of Australia, accessed 19 Apr 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/2470

Minute Leatherjacket, Rudarius minutus Tyler 1970

More Info

Distribution	Recorded in Australia from Lizard Island (14°40'S) to Endeavour Reef (13°47'S), Great Barrier Reef, QLD. found elsewhere in the tropical, west-central Pacific. Inhabits coastal reefs and reef lagoons, sheltering alone or in small groups amongst soft corals, gorgonians and branching fire corals.
Features	Meristic features: Dorsal fin II + 26-26; Anal fin 20-22; Pectoral fin 10. First dorsal-fin spine originating over rear half of eye.
Species Citation	Rudarius minutus Tyler, 1970, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad. 122(5): 274, figs 1Holotype ANSP 109786, Endeavour Reef, QLD.
Author	Dianne J. Bray

Minute Leatherjacket, Rudarius minutus Tyler 1970

References

Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. 2012. Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth : Tropical Reef Research 3 vols, 1260 pp.

Hutchins, J.B. 2001. Monacanthidae. pp. 3929-3947 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, T.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 6 pp. 3381-4218.

Hutchins, J.B. 2002. Description of a new genus and species of miniature monacanthid fish from the Seychelles and Marshall Islands. Rec. West. Aus. Mus. 21(2): 213-219.

Kuiter, R.H. 1992. Tropical Reef-Fishes of the Western Pacific, Indonesia and Adjacent Waters. Jakarta : PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama 314 pp. pls.

Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1990. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 507 pp. figs.

Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 557 pp. figs.

Tyler, J.C. 1970. An especially small, sexually dimorphic new species of filefish (Monacanthidae) from Australasian reefs. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia 122(5): 273-290.