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

He did so, and later also sent a partial paddlefish fossil he had excavated himself.

From Science Magazine ● Dec. 6, 2022

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

From Washington Post ● Jun. 21, 2022

In the 2019 paper, Mr. DePalma and his colleagues described how spherules raining down from the sky clogged the gills of paddlefish and sturgeon, suffocating them.

From New York Times ● Apr. 7, 2022

Even though modern bony fishes are much more diverse today, a previous study found that in the past they were not as numerous or varied as holosteans—the prehistoric relatives of today’s gar and paddlefish.

From Scientific American ● Mar. 23, 2022

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

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

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

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

From Reuters ● Feb. 23, 2022