---
title: "Fanbelly Leatherjacket"
description: "Monacanthus chinensis — Peixes. Monacanthus chinensis, commonly known as the fan-bellied leatherjacket or fantail leatherjacket, is a species of filefish native to the western Pacific Ocean and the eastern Indian Ocean where it is found on reefs and soft sediments at shallow depths."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/pt/animal/fanbelly-leatherjacket
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Fanbelly Leatherjacket

> Monacanthus chinensis — Peixes. Monacanthus chinensis, commonly known as the fan-bellied leatherjacket or fantail leatherjacket, is a species of filefish native to the western Pacific Ocean and the eastern Indian Ocean where it is found on reefs and soft sediments at shallow depths.

- Scientific name: *Monacanthus chinensis*
- Category: `fish` (Peixes)
- Habitats: `sea` (Mar e costa)
- iNaturalist observations: 3244
- Wikidata: [Q2650327](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2650327)
- iNaturalist taxon: [368999](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/368999)

## Names

- en: Fanbelly Leatherjacket
- de: Chinesischer Fächerbauch
- es: Pez Lija China

## Countries with the most observations

AU (2367), HK (271), SG (118), TH (44), CN (33), TW (23), ID (9), VN (8), MY (6), PH (4)

## Summary

Monacanthus chinensis, commonly known as the fan-bellied leatherjacket or fantail leatherjacket, is a species of filefish native to the western Pacific Ocean and the eastern Indian Ocean where it is found on reefs and soft sediments at shallow depths.  This species grows to a total length of 40 centimetres (16 in).

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monacanthus_chinensis

## Photo

![Fanbelly Leatherjacket](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/fanbelly-leatherjacket/medium.jpg)

Photo: Alejandro Treviño · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/43007108

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/fanbelly-leatherjacket?lang=pt` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).