Ecology Summary - Rypticus saponaceus

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Main Ref.	Randall, J.E., 1967
Remarks	Inhabits 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). Carnivore (Ref. 57616). Mobile invertebrate feeder (Ref. 126840).

Main Ref.

Randall, J.E., 1967

Remarks

Inhabits 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). Carnivore (Ref. 57616). Mobile invertebrate feeder (Ref. 126840).

Aquatic zones / Water bodies

	Marine - Neritic	Marine - Oceanic	Brackishwater	Freshwater
Marine zones / Brackish and freshwater bodies	supra-littoral zone littoral zone sublittoral zone	epipelagic mesopelagic epipelagic abyssopelagic hadopelagic	estuaries/lagoons/brackish seas mangroves marshes/swamps	rivers/streams lakes/ponds caves exclusively in caves

Highighted items on the list are where Rypticus saponaceus may be found.

Habitat

Substrate	: sand;: rocky;
Substrate Ref.
Special habitats	Coral Reefs; Other habitats: deep-water corals;
Special habitats Ref.	Simon, T., H.T. Pinheiro, R.L. Moura, A. Carvalho-Filho, L.A. Rocha, A.S. Martins, E. Mazzei, R.B. Francini-Filho, G.M. Amado-Filho and J.-C. Joyeux, 2016

Associations

Ref.	Claro, R., 1994
Associations	solitary;
Associated with	Cleaned by scarlet striped cleaner shrimp, Lysmata grabhami, as observed on the coral reefs in Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles (Ref. 36810).
Association remarks	A solitary species (Ref. 26340).
Parasitism

Feeding

Feeding type	mainly animals (troph. 2.8 and up)
Feeding type Ref.	Randall, J.E., 1967
Feeding habit	hunting macrofauna (predator)
Feeding habit Ref.	Randall, J.E., 1967

Trophic Level(s)

Estimation method	Original sample		Unfished population		Remark
Estimation method	Troph	s.e.	Troph	s.e.	Remark
From diet composition	4.06	0.48	3.94	0.62	Troph of juv./adults from 1 study.
From individual food items	4.00	0.61			Trophic level estimated from a number of food items using a randomized resampling routine.
Ref.	Randall, J.E., 1967

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