elephant fish

American  

noun

1. any of several long-snouted fishes belonging to the genus Callorhyncus, of the family Callorhynchidae (Chimaeridae), inhabiting deep waters of the Southern Hemisphere.

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elephant fish British  

noun

1. Also called: reperepe.  a large marine fish, Callorhinchus milii , of southwest Pacific waters, having a snout resembling an elephant's trunk

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Etymology

Origin of elephant fish

First recorded in 1765–75

Example Sentences

The six groups include: South American knife fishes, African electric catfish, African elephant fish, stargazers, some skates and some rays.

From Reuters • Jun. 26, 2014

Most of them were of that sort known to seamen by the name of elephant fish.

From A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 15 Forming A Complete History Of The Origin And Progress Of Navigation, Discovery, And Commerce, By Sea And Land, From The Earliest Ages To The Present Time by Kerr, Robert

Of bread and elephant fish, which were offered them, they refused to taste, but shewed that they were fond of birds, as an article of food.

From Narrative of the Voyages Round the World, Performed by Captain James Cook : with an Account of His Life During the Previous and Intervening Periods by Kippis, Andrew

But that next in number, and superior in goodness, to the elephant fish, was a sort none of us recollected to have seen before.

From A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 15 Forming A Complete History Of The Origin And Progress Of Navigation, Discovery, And Commerce, By Sea And Land, From The Earliest Ages To The Present Time by Kerr, Robert

They also refused some elephant fish, both raw and dressed, which we offered to them.

From A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 15 Forming A Complete History Of The Origin And Progress Of Navigation, Discovery, And Commerce, By Sea And Land, From The Earliest Ages To The Present Time by Kerr, Robert