porcupinefish

[pawr-kyuh-pahyn-fish]

noun

plural

porcupinefish ,

plural

porcupinefishes .

1. any of several fishes of the family Diodontidae, especially Diodon hystrix, of tropical seas, capable of inflating the body with water or air until it resembles a globe, with erection of the long spines covering the skin.

Word History and Origins

Origin of porcupinefish¹

First recorded in 1675–85; porcupine + fish

Example Sentences

Some might interpret a porcupinefish taking shelter among corals, as Duffy observed in Panama, as an interaction between species — and not count it as a trait.

From Nature