Body oblong, deep, compressed; head profile convex above; fatty eyelid moderately developed; top jaw with an outer row of canines and an inner band of fine teeth; lower jaw with one row of teeth; gill rakers (excluding rudiments) 6-8 + 17-22; margin of body at rear of gill chamber without papillae; pectoral fins longer than head; dorsal rays VIII + I, 20-22; anal rays II + I, 16-19; dorsal and anal fin with long front lobes; dorsal and anal fins not followed by finlets; lateral line with a pronounced anterior arch, straight part with 26-32 strong scutes; breast completely scaled.
Body and fins uniform grey to black; small dark spot on upper corner of gill opening; scutes often black.
Size: grows to 100 cm; 18kg.
Habitat: commonly seen on reefs surrounding offshore islands.
Depth: 3-355 m.
Circumtropical distribution; in the eastern Pacific from southern Baja and the mouth of the Gulf of California, Panama, and all the offshore islands.
