Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A fish of the genus Liparis: so called from their soft unctuous feel, and their habit of adhering to rocks by means of a ventral sucker.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Zoöl.) See sea snail (a).

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Any member of the Liparidae, a family of scorpaeniform marine fish.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun small tadpole-shaped cold-water fishes with pelvic fins forming a sucker; related to lumpfish

Etymologies

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Examples

  • Expedition leader Alan Jamieson said: The moment the traps came on deck, we were elated at the sight of the snailfish as we have been after these fish for years.

    The Independent - Frontpage RSS Feed 2012

  • The team was hoping to find specimens of deep-sea snailfish which have been photographed before but have not been seen since the 1950s.

    The Independent - Frontpage RSS Feed 2012

  • In each trench we explore, there seems to be a different species of snailfish.

    The Guardian World News Ian Sample 2011

  • Hordes of ghostly white snailfish, which resemble foot-long tadpoles with suckers on their bellies, appeared when one lander released bait in front of its onboard camera.

    The Guardian World News Ian Sample 2011

  • That little snailfish was merely a sampler, a single sushi bite on a far grander platter.

    SFGate: Top News Stories By Mark Morford 2010

  • Despite the insane pressure, there it swims, this bizarre little snailfish, cool as an albino cucumber.

    SFGate: Top News Stories By Mark Morford 2010

  • There are various species of snailfish, some of which can be found in shallower waters, but the hadal is found almost exclusively in depths exceeding 6000 meters, where they feed on small shrimp who scavenge the carcasses of dead marine life.

    Warren Ellis 2008

  • "The diminutive inquiline snailfish (Liparis inquilinus

    Warren Ellis 2008

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