Dermatolepis dermatolepis
Leather bass
Distribution
Tropical Eastern Pacific
Description
Grey body with white blotches and a scattering of small dark spots. Brownish face with a light stripe between eyes from top lip to start of dorsal fin. Steep head profile. Often shadows other foraging fishes, using them as cover to catch the animals disturbed by their passing. Small juveniles shelter amongst urchin spines.
Information
Max Size: 100 cm
Sea Temperature Range: 21.3-29.8°C
Depth: 21-40m
Habitat Generalization Index: 14.06
Also referred to as the SGI (Species Generalisation Index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here.
Conservation and Rarity
IUCN Status: Least Concern
Occurrence: Common (26.7% of sites)
Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed
Abundance: Few (4 per transect)
Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.
Edit by: Joe Shields