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snailfish

 - 2 dictionary results

snail⋅fish

[sneyl-fish]
–noun, plural (especially collectively) -fish, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) -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
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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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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