squirrelfish

[ skwur-uhl-fish, skwuhr-or, especially British, skwir- ]

noun

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

1. any of several brightly colored, nocturnal fishes of the family Holocentridae, inhabiting shallow waters of tropical reefs, especially the reddish Holocentrus ascensionis of the West Indies, armed with sharp spines and scales.

squirrelfish

/ ˈskwɪrəlˌfɪʃ /

noun

1. any tropical marine brightly coloured teleost fish of the family Holocentridae

Word History and Origins

Origin of squirrelfish¹

First recorded in 1795–1805; perhaps after the sound it makes out of water, likened to a squirrel's bark

Word History and Origins

Origin of squirrelfish¹

C18: so called because it can make a squirrel-like noise

Example Sentences

Long-beaked parrotfish, big-eyed squirrelfish, translucent blue disc-shaped surgeonfish, and huge angelfish in a dozen patterns nibbled on brightly colored coral and darted through sea anemones.

From New York Times

Parrotfish browsed here and there, chewing on the coral, alongside reddish squirrelfish, yellow French grunts and large schools of blue tang.

From New York Times

These include two species found nowhere else on Earth: a species of squirrelfish and the many-spined butterfly fish.

From BBC

These include two species found nowhere else on Earth: the squirrelfish and the many-spined butterfly fish.

From BBC

Anything that emerged from the night’s catch—squirrelfish or parrot fish, milky-eyed goatfish dead in the ropes, sling-jawed lionfish with their wings twisted—now lies spread in smudged colors across the Frenchman’s bed.

From The New Yorker