bonytail

8.9

A freshwater fish from North America with a long thin tail and silvery body

noun
/ˈboʊniˌteɪl/

Specialized

: pez cola ósea

The bonytail chub has a slender body and a distinctive tail, which makes it easy to identify in freshwater lakes.
bonytail chubs

Examples

Bonytail chubs are no longer reproducing in the wild.

Academic text (2001)
Efforts to restock Lake Mojave with hatchery-raised bonytails have been largely unsuccessful.

Academic text (2001)
Fifty have been released into the river since 1998, and biologists plan to release bonytails as well later this year.

Academic text (2001)
"They are essentially gone," says Minckley, who adds that no bonytails have been known to reproduce successfully in the wild for 30 or 40 years.

Academic text (2001)
Wildlife biologists are particularly concerned about bonytail chubs and razorback suckers.

Academic text (2001)
Wildlife researchers are studying the bonytail to understand its habitat needs and improve conservation efforts.
Efforts are underway to increase the population of bonytails in the Colorado River, where they are native.

Surface Forms

bonytail singular

bonytails plural

Morphology

bonytail = bony + tail (transparent) = bony + tail

A straightforward compound of 'bony' + 'tail' whose meaning (a fish notable for its bony tail) is directly inferable from its parts.

Etymology

Bonytail is a simple name made from bony ('having bones you can see') and tail ('the back end'). It was given to this North American freshwater fish because of its long, thin, bony tail, which is why it is also called the bonytail chub.