Species: Rypticus bistrispinus, Freckled Soapfish

Rypticus bistrispinus (Mitchill, 1818)

Freckled Soapfish

Body elongate, very compressed; forehead oblique; 2 pairs of nostrils, anterior tubular; lower jaw projecting; rear of top jaw exposed when mouth closed, without accessory bone above it; no knob at front of chin; simple teeth in bands on jaws; gill opening restricted above, most of upper part of operculum bound to body by skin; preopercle and opercle each with 3 spines; 7-9 gill rakers; dorsal fin II, 24-27; anal fin 0, 15-17; median fins thick, fleshy; rounded tail and pectoral fins; scales imbedded.

A broad dark area that begins as a stripe through snout and eye and broadens and pales as it extends along upper back to rear of dorsal fin; pale yellowish grey below this stripe and pale grey on top snout, nape and upper back; many densely packed small dark brown spots that from a network pattern on head and body; front of dorsal pale, rear of dorsal and tail mid-brown.

Size: to 15 cm.

Inhabits sand, rubble and seagrass beds, where it uses dead conch shells and burrows under rocks; more common at islands than the continent.

Depth: 2-100 m.

South Carolina to southern Brazil.