Brown Leatherjacket: Facts & Habitat

About Brown Leatherjacket

Cantherhines sandwichiensis, also called sandwich isle filefish, squaretail filefish, or - in Hawaiian - ʻ ō ʻ ililepa. It is a marine fish in the family Monacanthidae.

NativeSalt1 states

Description

It can reach up to about 19 cm (7.5 in) in length. Its body is brown with a glean of purple or blue, while its fins are yellow.

Distribution and habitat

Cantherhines sandwichiensis lives in reef ecosystem habitats, at depths of 2 to 73 m (7 to 240 ft), with a range from Hawai'i, Oceania, western Indian and Atlantic Oceans.

Behavior

It is a bottom feeder that also eats other things such as coral.

Article text: Wikipedia contributors, Cantherhines sandwichiensis (source revision). Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Range

Where it lives

100%of mapped records

Share of 166 GBIF observation records with a state location, across 1 states.

Share of records by state

Hawaii100%

Habitat

Water and movement

Water: WoRMS records this species in the sea.

Classification

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Superclass: Actinopterygii
Class: Teleostei
Order: Tetraodontiformes
Family: Monacanthidae
Genus: Cantherhines
Species: Cantherhines sandwichiensis
ITIS TSN: 173229
WoRMS AphiaID: 220057
GBIF key: 2406996

Common questions about Brown Leatherjacket

What is the scientific name of Brown Leatherjacket?

The scientific name is Cantherhines sandwichiensis, in the family Monacanthidae. Classification follows ITIS.

Does Brown Leatherjacket live in fresh water or salt water?

WoRMS records this species in the sea.

Where has Brown Leatherjacket been recorded in the United States?

GBIF has observations in 1 states, with the most records in Hawaii. The map shows observation records, which do not establish the complete natural range.

Closest relatives