cavefish

American

[kayv-fish] / ˈkeɪvˌfɪʃ /

noun

any of several fishes that live in cave waters, as species of the genus Amblyopsis, having no body pigment and rudimentary, functionless eyes.

cavefish British

/ ˈkeɪvˌfɪʃ /

noun

any of various small freshwater cyprinodont fishes of the genera Amblyopsis, Chologaster, etc, living in subterranean and other waters in S North America See also blindfish

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of cavefish

First recorded in 1870–75; cave + fish

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

cavefish

Now, new research shows how naturally starvation-resistant cavefish, unlike other animals, are able to protect their liver and remain healthy.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 18, 2024

The researchers show that in the absence of food, cavefish at early developmental stages not only survive much longer than their river fish counterparts, but also do not accumulate liver fat.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 18, 2024

Manufacturers must revise product labels to include new instructions, such as reducing spraying near critical habitat of protected species such as the sandhill crane and Alabama cavefish.

From Science Magazine ● Aug. 30, 2023

Surprisingly, cavefish were able to swim just as fast and as long as surface fish.

From Scientific American ● Feb. 24, 2023

The Mexican cavefish, which lives in dark caves, has metabolic challenges of a different kind.

From Scientific American ● Feb. 24, 2023

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023