[rib-uh
n-fish] 
) -fish, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) -fish⋅es. | 1. | any of several marine fishes of the families Trachipteridae, Regalicidae, and Lophotidae, having a long, compressed, ribbonlike body. |
| 2. | any of several related fishes, as the oarfish. |
| 3. | any of several unrelated but similar fishes, as the cutlassfish and jackknife-fish. |
[awr-fish, ohr-] ) -fish, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) -fish⋅es. | any long, ribbon-shaped, silvery fish of the genus Regalecus, of deep tropical waters, having a red dorsal fin along the spine that rises to a crest, and reaching a length of 30 ft. (9 m). |
| rib·bon·fish (rĭb'ən-fĭsh') n. pl. ribbonfish or rib·bon·fish·es Any of several marine fishes, chiefly of the genus Trachipterus, having long narrow compressed bodies. |
ribbonfish
any of several species of deep-sea, marine fishes constituting the family Trachipteridae (order Lampridiformes). The family contains three genera: Trachipteras, Desmodema, and Zu. These slender-bodied fishes occur in all the major oceans. The name ribbonfish comes from the long, stringlike dorsal fin that originates behind the head and waves like a ribbon as the fish swims. Ribbonfishes are further distinguished by their upward-pointing caudal fins and lack of anal fins. The largest of the ribbonfishes, T. arcticus, reaches a length of 2 m (6.5 feet) and is found in cold northern waters
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