hatchetfish

[ hach-it-fish ]

noun

, plural (especially collectively) hatch·et·fish, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) hatch·et·fish·es.

1. any deep-sea fishes of the genera Argyropelicus, Sternoptyx, and related genera, of tropical and temperate waters, having a silvery, hatchet-shaped body.
2. Also called fly·ing char·a·cin [flahy, -ing , kar, -, uh, -sin]. any of several freshwater fishes of the genera Carnegiella, Gasteropelecus, and Thorachocharax, occurring from Panama to the Rio de la Plata and capable of flying short distances by rapid movements of their large pectoral fins.

Word History and Origins

Origin of hatchetfish¹

First recorded in 1930–35; hatchet + fish

Example Sentences

Ms. Justino has excavated fibers and beads from the digestive tracts of lanternfish, hatchetfish and other fish that migrate up and down in the mesopelagic, 650 to 3,300 feet down.

From New York Times

Nobody knows what they were eating, she wrote, but lanternfish and hatchetfish are abundant at the depths the whale reached.

From Washington Times

A small number of other fish such as the anglerfish and hatchetfish have transparent teeth.

From The Guardian

The belly of a hatchetfish contains light organs or photophores.

From New York Times

Animals like the hatchetfish also use their bodies as mirrors to hide, or even make themselves transparent.

From New York Times