damselfish

[dam-zuh l-fish] /ˈdæm zəlˌfɪʃ/
noun, plural (especially collectively) damselfish (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) damselfishes.
1.
any of several chiefly tropical, brilliantly colored, marine fishes of the family Pomacentridae, living among coral reefs.
Also called demoiselle.
Origin
1900-05; damsel + fish
Examples from the web for damselfish
  • Inch-long damselfish nip at a diver's facemask, attempting to chase her away from its carefully tended algae garden.
  • The size of the plotted circle for each station describes the number of damselfish observed.
British Dictionary definitions for damselfish

damselfish

/ˈdæmzəlˌfɪʃ/
noun (pl) -fish, -fishes
1.
any small tropical percoid fish of the family Pomacentridae, having a brightly coloured deep compressed body See also anemone fish
Encyclopedia Article for damselfish

any of about 250 species of small, primarily tropical marine fishes of the family Pomacentridae (order Perciformes) found in the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific oceans. Damselfishes are deep-bodied and usually have forked tails. They resemble the related cichlids, and, like them, have a single nostril on each side of the head. Many species are brilliantly coloured, often in shades of red, orange, yellow, or blue; most do not exceed a length of about 15 cm (6 inches)

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