soapfish

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A serranoid fish of the genus Rhypticus (or Promicropterus): so called from the soapy skin. Several are found along the Atlantic coast of the United States, as R. maculatus, R. decoratus, and R. pituitosus. See cut under Rhypticus.

Wiktionary

1. n. Any of several serranoid fish, of the genus Rhypticus, that have a slimy mucus-covered skin.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. (Zoöl.) Any serranoid fish of the genus Rhypticus; -- so called from the soapy feeling of its skin.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. fishes with slimy mucus-covered skin; found in the warm Atlantic coastal waters of America