ratfish

[ rat-fish ]

noun

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

1. a chimaera, Hydrolagus colliei, of the Pacific Ocean from Alaska to Baja California, having a ratlike tail.

ratfish

/ ˈrætˌfɪʃ /

noun

1. another name for rabbitfish
2. a chimaera, Hydrolagus colliei , of the North Pacific Ocean, which has a long narrow tail

Word History and Origins

Origin of ratfish¹

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85; rat + fish

Example Sentences

Several species of fish patrolled the reefs, including skates, sharks and ratfish, whose large, emerald-green eyes gather the scant light available in these inky depths.

From Scientific American

Although park officials say Strigilodus tollesonae is a shark, they qualify it by noting that the species is more closely related to the modern ratfish than to today’s sharks.

From Washington Times

Both animals belong firmly to the branch of jawed fish called the chondrichthyans, the group of cartilaginous fish that include modern sharks, rays and ratfish.

From New York Times

Over the past few decades, scientists learned that these cartilaginous fishes, also known as ratfish or Chimaeras, have been around for hundreds of millions of years, and that they have venomous spines in front of their dorsal fins and “fly” through the water by flapping their pectoral fins.

From New York Times

It is for this reason that Ray and I call the Salish Sea by a different name: the Ratfish Empire.

From Seattle Times