porcupinefish

[ pawr-kyuh-pahyn-fish ]

noun

, plural (especially collectively) por·cu·pine·fish, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) por·cu·pine·fish·es.

1. any of several fishes of the family Diodontidae, especially Diodon hystrix, of tropical seas, capable of inflating the body with water or air until it resembles a globe, with erection of the long spines covering the skin.

Word History and Origins

Origin of porcupinefish¹

First recorded in 1675–85; porcupine + fish

Example Sentences

Some might interpret a porcupinefish taking shelter among corals, as Duffy observed in Panama, as an interaction between species — and not count it as a trait.

From Nature