Rypticus saponaceus
Greater 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 saponaceus (Greater Soapfish)
Description
This species account was compiled from
FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2025. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version 04/2025.)
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Characters
Body shape: fusiform / normal. Pale spots about the size of the pupil or smaller on body and some on dorsal fin (Ref. 13442).
Distribution
Western Atlantic: Bermuda and southern Florida, USA to Brazil. Eastern Atlantic: Mauritania to Angola, including St. Paul's Rocks (Ref. 13121), Cape Verde, St. Helena and Ascension islands. One record from Cape of Good Hope, South Africa (Ref. 7320).
Habitat Associations
Marine. reef-associated. depth range 1-70 m. Found in: coral reefs.
Biology
Maximum depth from Ref. 126840. A solitary species (Ref. 26340) inhabiting shallow water on bottoms with eroded limestone or mixed sand and rocks, as well as around reefs. Often found lying motionless against rocks (Ref. 13121). Secretes copious mucus which makes its surface slimy and when disturbed the slime turns into a soapy foam. The mucus has been shown to contain a toxic protein (Ref. 3632). Nocturnal, frequently seen around the bases of coral colonies and near mouths of caves (Ref. 26938).
Max length: 35.0 cm TL; common length: 25.0 cm TL.
Reproductive mode: protogyny; nonguarders.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2012-08-23.
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: subsistence fisheries; aquarium: commercial.
References
Randall, J.E. (1967) Food habits of reef fishes of the West Indies. Stud. Trop. Oceanogr. Miami 5:665-847.
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.
Randall, J.E. (1996) Caribbean reef fishes. Third Edition - revised and enlarged. T.F.H. Publications, Inc. Ltd., Hong Kong. 3nd ed. 368 p.
García-Cagide, A., R. Claro and B.V. Koshelev (1994) Reproducción. p. 187-262. In R. Claro (ed.) Ecología de los peces marinos de Cuba. Inst. Oceanol. Acad. Cienc. Cuba. and Cen. Invest. Quintana Roo (CIQRO) México.
Sanches, J.G. (1991) Catálogo dos principais peixes marinhos da República de Guiné-Bissau. Publ. Avuls. Inst. Nac. Invest. Pescas 16:429 p.
Feitoza, B.M., L.A. Rocha, O.J. Luiz-Júnior, S.R. Floeter and J.L. Gasparini (2003) Reef fishes of St. Paul's Rocks: new records and notes on biology and zoogeography. aqua, J. Ichthyol. Aquat. Biol. 7(2):61-82.
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