Rypticus bistrispinus
Freckled Soapfish
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Serranidae (Sea Basses and Groupers)
Rypticus
Rypticus bistrispinus (Freckled Soapfish)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
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Characters
Rayed sections of dorsal and anal fins fleshy, inner pelvic rays connected to body by membrane. Head compressed and relatively long. Anterior naris tubular and moderately separated from posterior naris. Maxilla extends to posterior margin of orbit. Jaw teeth villiform, with those in inner row of lower jaw slightly enlarged and directed posteriorly. Vomer and palatine have bands of villiform teeth, with those of inner row of palatine slightly enlarged and directed posteriorly. Margin of preoperculum semicircular, with three (occasionally two) spines. Gill rakers on first arch short and number seven to nine, excluding rudiments. Measurements (% SL): head length 32%–42%, snout length 7%–10%, eye diameter 7%–9%, upper jaw length 15%–20%, pectoral fin length 21%–25%, pre-dorsal-fin length 38%–50%, body depth 29%–34%. Pectoral fin rounded with 13 to 16 rays. Dorsal fin has rounded posterior margin and consists of two spines and 24 or 26 rays. Anal fin has rounded posterior margin and 15 to 17 (usually 15 or 16) rays; spines lacking. Caudal fin rounded. Scales small and embedded. Head, except lips, covered with scales. Skin covered with thick mucus containing toxin (grammistin). Vertebrae number 25: 10 pre-caudal and 15 caudal. Pyloric caecae number three.
Color yellow to light brown, with ocher to reddish brown spots on upper surface and cream to tan belly. Cheeks, upper and lower jaws, and belly mottled with ocher to reddish brown spots. Juveniles have broad brown stripe on flank.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from Cape Canaveral, FL, and the Bahamas to Venezuela, including the eastern and southern Gulf of Mexico and the Antilles.
Habitat Associations
Near shore to at least 80 m depth
Remains in shells and burrows during the day
Biology
Food consists of small amphipods, crabs, and shrimps. Forages at night.
Maximum known size is 115 mm SL.
In the eastern Gulf of Mexico, spawning takes place between July and September.
A solitary species (Ref. 26340) inhabiting sandy bottom strewn with rocks (Ref. 5521). Rarely observed on reefs (Ref. 13442). Like other soapfishes, it has special skin glands that produce an irritating, mildly toxic slime (Ref. 26938).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2012-08-23.
References
Longley and Hildebrand 1941 (in part as R. arenatus)
Courtenay 1967
Böhlke and Chaplin 1968
Darcy and Gutherz 1984
Williams and Shipp 1980
Robins and Ray 1986
Boschung 1992
Cervigón 1991
Smith 1997
Heemstra 2002c
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray (1986) A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p.
Smith, C.L. (1997) National Audubon Society field guide to tropical marine fishes of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas, and Bermuda. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. 720 p.
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