Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
batfish

batfish

1 9.1
A fish that lives on the sea floor with a flat body and crawls on its fins
  • noun
  • /ˈbætˌfɪʃ/
  • US
: pez murciélago

Examples

  • Batfish and barracuda love this area.

    Blog text (3)

  • It's home to the weird and wonderful too; look out for the strange-looking bum head parrot fish and eerie batfish.

    Blog text (3)

  • Giant eagle rays, sharks, barracuda, and batfish twirl around in a spellbinding dance.

    Blog text (3)

  • Rare piercing peacock flounders and shortnose batfish camouflage themselves against the colorful and sandy base.

    Blog text (3)

  • While snorkeling, we spotted a batfish gracefully crawling along the sandy bottom.

  • The batfish has a unique, flattened body that helps it blend into its environment.

  • Diving near the reef, we were amazed to see a batfish using its pectoral fins to move across the seafloor.

Synonyms

Ogcocephalidae
vsbatfish
  • Specialized
9.9

A family of slow, spiny sea fish that live on the sea floor and look like bats

is narrower, meaning a single species found in a specific Atlantic region

Surface Forms

batfish singular
batfishes plural

Morphology

batfish = bat + fish (transparent) = bat + fish

Clear compound of 'bat' + 'fish' meaning a fish named for its bat-like appearance; a learner knowing both components can infer it is a type of fish.

Etymology

The word batfish comes from the simple English words bat ('a flying mammal') and fish. The fish's wide, flat fins look like bat wings and its flattened body helps it 'walk' along the sea floor, which is why it got that name.