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Species: Rypticus randalli, Randall's Soapfish

All Families:   All Genera:   All Species:

uniform dark brown
pores on lower jaw & preopercle: few, large, single
D II-III, 23-25

Rypticus randalli Courtenay, 1967

Randall's Soapfish

Body elongate, very compressed; forehead oblique; snout short, 5-6% SL; 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; pores on lower jaw & preopercle few, large, single; simple teeth in bands on jaws; 1-3 spines on preopercle; 2 (2-3) spines on operculum; gill opening restricted above, most of upper part of operculum bound to body by skin; gill rakers 7-11; dorsal fin II-III (usually II), 23-25; anal fin 0, 14-16; pectoral rays 14-17; median fins thick, fleshy; rounded tail and pectoral fins; scales imbedded.

Head and body brown, with blue-grey cast, paler below; small fish with a cream stripe along midline from tip of mouth to last dorsal fin spine.

Size: to 21.5 cm.

Inhabits silty rocky areas and soft bottoms, from areas of reduced salinity to hypersaline lagoons.

Depth: 0-52 m.

The Caribbean and southern Bahamas to southern Brazil.


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Salinity
  • Brackish
  • Marine
Inshore/Offshore
  • Inshore
  • Inshore Only
Water Column Position
  • Bottom
Habitat
  • Rocks
  • Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
  • Estuary
  • Mangrove
  • Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
  • Reef and soft bottom
  • Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
FishBase Habitat
  • Demersal
  • Reef Associated
Feeding Group
  • Carnivore
  • Data
Diet
  • Data
  • Bony fishes
  • Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
Egg Type
  • Data
  • Pelagic
  • Pelagic larva
Global Endemism
  • All species
  • Greater Caribbean non-endemic
  • West Atlantic Endemic
Regional Endemism
  • Also in Brazil
  • Continent
  • Continent + Island (s)
  • Continental primarily
  • Extends South of GC
  • GC non-endemic
  • Island (s)
  • All species
Residency
  • Resident
Climate Zone
  • Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
  • Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
  • Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
IUCN Red List
  • Least concern
  • Listed
CITES
  • Not listed
Length Max
  • 21.5
Depth Range Min
  • 0
Depth Range Max
  • 52