Leather Bass

Dermatolepis dermatolepis has a maximum recorded total length of 100 centimetres (39 in), and they have been weighted up to 12.5 kilograms (28 lb). The body is at least twice as deep as its standard length, is at its deepest at the origin of the dorsal fin, and is laterally compressed. The dorsal profile of head is steep and the eye has a diameter which is less than the length of the snout. The caudal fin is rounded and the pectoral fins are short. The dorsal fin contains 11 spines and 18-20 soft rays while the anal fin has 3 spines and 9 soft rays. The adults have a greyish-brown body with alternating dark grey to blackish and white to pale grey bars mottled by many white to pale blotches. The margins of the fins have thin bands of yellow. The juveniles are black with narrow white stripes on the head and the body which extend onto the dorsal and anal fins with a white caudal fin which has black spots.

Dermatolepis dermatolepis occurs in the eastern Pacific Ocean along the western coast of North and South America from southern California to Peru. They are also found on the Galapagos Islands, the Revillagigedo Islands, Cocos Island and Clipperton Island.

It is a diurnal predator which preys on small benthic fishes and sometimes on crustaceans. It will associate with browsing herbivorous fishes, hiding amongst them and feeding on the hidden animals disturbed by these fish as they browse. They have also been recorded following moray eels as they forage, preying on fishes fleeing from the eel.