SQUIRRELFISH (squirrelfishes)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected form: squirrelfishes   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does squirrelfish mean? 

• SQUIRRELFISH (noun)
  The noun SQUIRRELFISH has 2 senses:

1. similar to sea bream; small spiny-finned fish found in bays along the southeastern coast of the United States

2. very small, brightly colored (especially red) nocturnal fishes of shallow waters or tropical reefs; they make sounds like a squirrel's bark

  Familiarity information: SQUIRRELFISH used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SQUIRRELFISH (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Similar to sea bream; small spiny-finned fish found in bays along the southeastern coast of the United States

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

Lagodon rhomboides; pinfish; sailor's-choice; squirrelfish

Hypernyms ("squirrelfish" is a kind of...):

sparid; sparid fish (spiny-finned food fishes of warm waters having well-developed teeth)

Holonyms ("squirrelfish" is a member of...):

genus Lagodon; Lagodon (a genus of Sparidae)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Very small, brightly colored (especially red) nocturnal fishes of shallow waters or tropical reefs; they make sounds like a squirrel's bark

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("squirrelfish" is a kind of...):

acanthopterygian; spiny-finned fish (a teleost fish with fins that are supported by sharp inflexible rays)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "squirrelfish"):

Holocentrus coruscus; reef squirrelfish (on reefs from Bermuda and Florida to northern South America)

deepwater squirrelfish; Holocentrus bullisi (a squirrelfish found from South Carolina to Bermuda and Gulf of Mexico)

Holocentrus ascensionis (bright red fish of West Indies and Bermuda)

soldier-fish; soldierfish (the larger squirrelfishes)

Holonyms ("squirrelfish" is a member of...):

family Holocentridae; Holocentridae (squirrelfishes and soldierfishes)