paddlefish

American  

[pad-l-fish] / ˈpæd lˌfɪʃ /

noun

• paddlefishes,
  plural
• paddlefish
  plural

1. a large ganoid fish, Polyodon spathula, of the Mississippi River and its larger tributaries, having a long, flat, paddlelike snout.

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paddlefish British  

/ ˈpædəlˌfɪʃ /

noun

1. a primitive bony fish, Polyodon spathula, of the Mississippi River, having a long paddle-like projection to the snout: family Polyodontidae

2. a similar and related Chinese fish, Psephurus gladius, of the Yangtze River

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• paddlefish
  plural
• paddlefishes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of paddlefish

An Americanism dating back to 1680–90; paddle ¹ + fish

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

paddlefish paddlefishes

To determine season of death, both During’s and DePalma’s teams reported isotopic signatures taken from fossilized fin bones of paddlefish thought to have been killed minutes to hours after the asteroid’s impact.

From Science Magazine ● Dec. 12, 2023

In 2020 alone, 16 species were declared extinct, including the Chinese paddlefish.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 21, 2022

He saw one of the paddlefish fossils with spherules in its gills and is convinced that the site does indeed capture the day of the cataclysm and its immediate aftermath.

From New York Times ● Apr. 7, 2022

During excavated Cretaceous fish at Tanis in August 2017, spending two weeks digging out fossils of paddlefish and sturgeons.

From Scientific American ● Feb. 23, 2022

He spoke of it to his friend of the paddlefish investigation.

From The Boy With the U. S. Fisheries by Francis Rolt-Wheeler

Among the survivors were paddlefishes and sturgeons, which survive to this day.

From Reuters ● Feb. 23, 2022

Chemical evidence from one of the paddlefishes indicated that food availability was increasing as it does in springtime, but not at peak summer levels.

From Reuters ● Feb. 23, 2022