damselfish

[dam-zuhl-fish]

noun

plural

damselfish ,

plural

damselfishes .

1. any of several chiefly tropical, brilliantly colored, marine fishes of the family Pomacentridae, living among coral reefs.

damselfish

/ ˈdæmzəlˌfɪʃ /

noun

1. any small tropical percoid fish of the family Pomacentridae, having a brightly coloured deep compressed body See also anemone fish

Word History and Origins

Origin of damselfish¹

First recorded in 1900–05; damsel + fish

Example Sentences

The Cambridge researchers attached 3D plastic models of trumpetfish and parrotfish to a wire pulley system and deployed them inside a colony of damselfish.

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The scientists began by pulling only the 3D parrotfish over the damselfish habitat.

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Similarly, when the trumpetfish model was attached to the side of a parrotfish model and pulled past the damselfish, the fish did not flee.

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The study examined sites around the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, focusing on a small fish known as the jewel damselfish.

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We swam under a rock arch and through a short tunnel as damselfish, and ornate wrasse glided by in a mesmerizing parade.

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