porcupine fish

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search
See also: porcupinefish

English

[edit]
porcupine fish

Alternative forms

[edit]

Noun

[edit]

porcupine fish (plural porcupine fish or porcupine fishes)

  1. Any of several tropical fish species in the family Diodontidae that are covered with sharp spines and inflate themselves when threatened. [from 17th c.]
    • 2001, Richard Flanagan, Gould's Book of Fish, Vintage, published 2016, page 161:
      I took a knife down from where it hung on the side of the fireplace, & place the sharp tip against the taut body of the porcupine fish.

Translations

[edit]