Rypticus maculatus
Whitespotted Soapfish
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Serranidae (Sea Basses and Groupers)
Rypticus
Rypticus maculatus (Whitespotted 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. Anterior naris is tubular and moderately separated from posterior naris. Maxilla extends beyond posterior margin of orbit. Jaws, vomerine, and palatine teeth are villiform. Margin of preoperculum is semicircular, with two (occasionally one) spines. Dorsal margin of operculum is connected to head by membrane. Gill rakers on first arch are short and number seven to nine, excluding rudiments. Measurements are expressed as percent of SL: head length 32%–38%, snout length 6%–9%, eye diameter 6%–7%, upper jaw length 13%–18%, pectoral fin length 17%–22%, pre-dorsal-fin length 39%–44%, body depth 29%–40%. Pectoral fin is rounded and has 13 to 16 rays. Dorsal fin has two (rarely three) spines and 22 to 27 (usually 24 to 26) rays. Anal fin has rounded posterior margin and 13 to 17 (usually 15 or 16) rays; spines are lacking. Caudal fin is rounded. Scales are small and embedded. Head, with exception of lips, is covered with scales. Skin is covered with thick mucus that contains toxin (grammistin). Vertebrae number 24 or 25: 10 precaudal and 14 or (rarely) 15 caudal.
Color is brown, with scattered to coalesced white spots on upper half of head trunk, and cream on jaws and belly.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from Cape Hatteras, NC, to the southern Gulf of Mexico. In the Gulf of Mexico it is known from Florida to Texas and from Campeche Bay.
Known from Texas in the Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
From near shore to 91 m, associated with rocky or coral substrata
Rocky or coral substrata
Biology
Food consists of crabs, shrimps, and small ray-finned fishes
Maximum known size is 198 mm SL
In the Gulf of Mexico spawning takes place during the summer
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2012-08-23.
References
Courtenay 1967
Springer and Woodburn 1960 (as R. saponaceus)
Smith et al. 1975
Hastings et al. 1976
Hoese and Moore 1977
Hoese and Moore 1998
Hastings 1979
Robins and Ray 1986
Retzer 1990
Boschung 1992
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.
Dominici-Arosemena, A. and M. Wolff (2005) Reef fish community structure in Bocas del Toro (Caribbean, Panamá): Gradients in habitat complexity and exposure. Caribbean J. Sci. 41(3):613-637.
Kells, V. and K. Carpenter (2011) A field guide to coastal fishes from Maine to Texas. The Johnson Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland.
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