spiny dogfish
- noun
- /ˈspaɪni ˈdɔɡˌfɪʃ/
:
perro de perro espinoso
- Aquarists often recommend spiny dogfish as an interesting species to include in marine exhibits.
Examples
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But there have also been increased landings of nontraditional species like spiny dogfish and skates (Murawski and Almeida, 1998).
Academic text (2000) -
The fishermen caught several spiny dogfish while trawling in the chilly waters off the coast.
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In the ocean depths, the sharp dorsal spines of the spiny dogfish make it easily recognizable.
Synonyms
A small spiny shark called the spiny dogfish that lives near coasts in the Atlantic and Pacific
A small thin shark with sharp spines on its back found in Atlantic coastal waters
A small shark that has two spines on its back and lives along the Pacific coast of North America
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is a straightforward adjective+noun composition: 'spiny' (having sharp points) modifies 'dogfish' (a small shark), so a learner who knows both words can infer it denotes a dogfish with sharp spines. The meaning is literal and referential, following common cross-linguistic adjectival modification patterns, so it is readily comprehensible to B1 learners.
Etymology
Spiny dogfish shows a simple picture: the fish is a small dogfish with sharp spines on its back fins. One popular story says fishermen called it a 'dog' because it bites like a dog, so the name means 'a small shark with sharp spines'.
