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Pholididae

Pholididae

9.9
A family of long sea fish with small scales called gunnels
  • noun
  • /fəˈlɪdəˌdeɪ/
  • Specialized
: Pholididae
  • The fish in the family Pholididae are commonly called gunnels and are found in temperate marine waters.

Examples

  • Researchers studied several species within Pholididae to better understand their evolutionary history.

  • The Pholididae family includes various species of gunnels.

  • Many members of Pholididae have slender, almost eel-like bodies suitable for living in rocky crevices.

  • Many fish enthusiasts are fascinated by Pholididae species.

  • The fish in the family Pholididae are commonly called gunnels and are found in temperate marine waters.

  • Many members of Pholididae have slender, almost eel-like bodies suitable for living in rocky crevices.

  • Researchers studied several species within Pholididae to better understand their evolutionary history.

Synonyms

gunnel
vsPholididae
  • UK
1 9.9

A small, thin sea fish that looks like a young eel

is the broader family grouping rather than a single species or individual fish
Pholidae
vsPholididae
  • Specialized
9.9

A family of long, thin sea fish that live in cold and mild northern waters

is the same family concept without the explicit regional restriction

Surface Forms

Pholididae singular
Pholididaes plural

Morphology

Pholididae = Pholis (opaque) = pholis + idae

The '-idae' ending is a specialized zoological family-forming suffix; this taxonomic formation is unlikely to be transparent to average learners.

Etymology

Pholididae comes from the Greek root pholid- meaning 'scale' and the ending -idae which means 'family' in animal names. So Pholididae is the 'family of scaled fish', a fitting name for gunnels that have small, close scales.