batfish

American  

[bat-fish] / ˈbætˌfɪʃ /

noun

plural

batfish,

plural

batfishes

1. any of the flat-bodied marine fishes of the family Ogcocephalidae found worldwide in tropical and subtropical oceans, including Ogcocephalus vespertilio Brazilian batfish of the coastal western Atlantic Ocean, especially along the coast of Brazil.

2. Also called bat ray.  an eagle ray, Myliobatis californicus, found off the coast of California and southward to the Galapagos Islands.

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batfish British  

/ ˈbætˌfɪʃ /

noun

1. any angler of the family Ogcocephalidae , having a flattened scaleless body and moving on the sea floor by means of fleshy pectoral and pelvic fins

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Etymology

Origin of batfish

First recorded in 1900–05; bat ² + fish

Example Sentences

Those keys have enabled him to breed fish that no one else has, including striped regal angelfish and frilly black-bodied, orange-rimmed pinnatus batfish.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 19, 2022

Instead I go for an hourlong snorkel, spotting butterfly and batfish among the coral, then hop into a four-wheel drive jeep with a guide to explore the 400-square-kilometer island.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2013

Studying today’s pancake batfish, which all live in roughly the top hundred meters of the sea, could offer insights into the ancient transition to the depths.

From US News • Jul. 15, 2010

The pancake batfish have suddenly become the new face of imperiled sea life in the oiled Gulf.

From US News • Jul. 15, 2010

Like a great bird—or a huge batfish leaping from the sea—the ice boat shot out on a long curve from the summit of the hard-packed snowdrift.

From Janice Day at Poketown by Long, Helen Beecher