Definitive Exotic Hide Identification Thread: Post your Hippo, Turtle, Gator, Phoque (you!), etc....

Recently I had a slight adventure trying to identify an odd leather hide, and I thought it might be useful to start a relatively organized, definitive Exotic Hide Identification (EHI) thread here. We've had numerous threads in the past devoted to single items, but I thought one thread might be a good resource for members who find random, unique things. We all know what gator or ostrich looks like... but what about porpoise? Seal? Moose? Hippo? Elephant?

A few of the pics are my own, and others I found on the interwebz.

I'll start with several unique hides:

Walrus Skin (tricheco):

NOTE: other areas from the walrus have a more grained/"rougher" hide. I'm not sure which part of the animal the above hide comes from... but given the prominent follicles, maybe the softer underbelly area? not sure.
For example, see here (has a very different appearance, grain, etc.)


Hippopotamus:
Thick lines, similar to course adult bull hide, but thicker/gnarlier. I've seen it both as a regular leather, and "sueded":


Elephant:
Also thick lines, but depends on the area of the animal from which it comes. Tends to have tiny pockmarks all over the surface, instead of smoother skin beneath the wrinkles.


Elephant and sharkskin wallets (my own pics):


Sea Turtle:
　
Looks at first like a "cross" between alligator and snake. But, in person, the scales tend to be smaller than alligator. I've seen wallets and shoes in this hide in Japan; they're quite lovely but look rather delicate (the wallets I've seen tend not to age well, IMHO.)

Emu:
Like ostrich, only the quill is over the whole body, and the follicles are smaller. The hide is slightly rougher looking than ostrich.


Shark:
I tend to mistake this one a lot for hippo, walrus, seal, etc. A very thick, sturdy, gnarly sort of hide. Very tough. They used to cover the handles of samurai swords in this stuff. Very unique in person, but not particularly "elegant" for smaller leather goods.


Lizard:



What others? Feel free to post individual items in various hides.

Others I've seen, that others can add if they wish: Fish leather (salmon, etc.), Chicken, slink (fetal calf), stingray, water buffalo.

Thanks, Spoo, for the added info! Would love to see some of your exotic pieces. Surely you must have that secret, hidden Versace piece in unicorn hide? You know the one... from S/S 2003.

Though I'm NO expert at all and am just posting from my experience (mostly since coming to Japan, where exotic hides are very popular and very few laws prohibit even rare animals from being harvested), I've found this with most hides, and would say it is probably a combination of various species, location of hide taken from the animal, and also just the variances in the individual animals themselves. For example, with the walrus posted above, I'd never seen one with the pronounced follicle like that. Older walrus luggage/doctors bags can be seen on google image search easily, and they're very thick/wrinkled. This one has no wrinkles. In fact, the original seller of the bag thought it was ostrich. My only guess is that perhaps the hide was taken from different places (perhaps back vs. belly, chin/chest area vs. sides, etc.)

This variation in species, location, etc. was one reason I decided to make the thread. Hopefully over time we can get a comprehensive list of examples of different types and variations even within the same hide.
That fish wallet is really neat. You are right... it's sort of like a chain mail. I've not seen many fish skin pieces in person, but they are becoming quite popular. I think Dior under Galliano did a series of bags in it a few years back. I like the smallness of the scales... less in your face than ostrich leg, snake, etc., but also very different from lizard. Thanks for posting!

More hides (from things I've had):

Horsehair (Valentino wallet):


Cinghiale (wild boar... the red trim, rest of the bag is canvas))
It's like pigskin, except with a slightly different grain and a more pronounced follicle...almost like a graining pattern)


Comparison with "regular" pigskin... notice different texture/grain:


Kangaroo (LV Soana):



Crocodile (vintage Asprey):


Buffalo:


Moose/Elk ("Alce"): very similar to deerskin, though slightly thicker/less "soft" (Jil sander)

It is, I believe, though I've never owned anything in it. IIRC, it looks a lot like hippo and elephant... a gnarled, thick hide with pronounced graining.

Stingray wallet, from an exotic-hide bag and wallet company in Japan called MUTA. I'm really liking this brand; they do nice work and the prices are reasonable (this wallet is around 50,000 yen/$500-600, and bags and such are around 150,000/ $1500-1600) given the leathers used.

AFAIK, they are all farmed, or grown for purposes of harvesting. For elephants and such, my guess is that there are harvesting restrictions in place, though I don't know what they are. It's not really "poaching," though, r just people out shooting happy elephants on the savannah... as all of these bags are made by very reputable, large brands and not sold out of the back of a station wagon after dark. (haha)