snailfish

snail·fish

[sneyl-fish]
noun, plural ( especially collectively ) snail·fish ( especially referring to two or more kinds or species ) snail·fish·es.
any of several elongate, smooth-skinned fishes of the family Liparididae, inhabiting cold seas, having the ventral fins modified to form a sucking disk.

Origin:
1830–40; snail + fish

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Collins
World English Dictionary
snailfish (ˈsneɪlˌfɪʃ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n , pl -fish, -fishes
another name for sea snail

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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00:10
snailfish is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia

snailfish

any of about 115 species of marine fish often placed with the lumpsuckers in the family Cyclopteridae, but sometimes separated as a distinct family, Liparidae (order Scorpaeniformes). Snailfish are small, growing to a maximum length of about 30 centimetres (12 inches). They are elongated, soft, tadpole-shaped fish with loose and scaleless, though sometimes prickly, skins. There is a long dorsal fin on the back and usually a sucking disk below the head. The disk is formed from the pelvic fins and is used for attachment to the bottom.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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