Zaniolepis latipinnis was first formally described in 1858 by the French biologist Charles Frédéric Girard with its type locality given as Fort Steilacoom on Puget Sound in Washington.

[2] The specific name, latipinnis, means "broad-finned", a reference to the long bases of the dorsal and anal fins.

[3] Zaniolepis latipinnis has a slender, elongated and compressed body which is covered in small, rough scales.

There is a row of saddle-like markings along the back and a variety of spots and blotches on the flanks with a broad black stripe running from to the eye.

[5] Zaniolepis latipinnis Is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean from Vancouver Island in British Columbia[5] south to just north of Magdalena Bay in Baja California Sur.