shovelnose

American  

[shuhv-uhl-nohz] / ˈʃʌv əlˌnoʊz /

noun

1. any of various animals with a shovellike snout or head, as a guitarfish, Rhinobatos productus, of California.

2. shovelnose sturgeon.

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shovelnose British  

/ ˈʃʌvəlˌnəʊz /

noun

1. an American freshwater sturgeon, Scaphirhynchus platorynchus, having a broad shovel-like snout

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Etymology

Origin of shovelnose

An Americanism dating back to 1700–10; shovel + nose

Example Sentences

He said he saw large catfish dead, as well as shovelnose sturgeon.

From New York Times • Mar. 29, 2024

But smaller sea creatures, including shovelnose guitarfish, bat rays and horn sharks, live in Southern California’s estuaries and lagoons, swim just off its coastal beaches and feed along the now-tainted shoreline off Orange County.

From Washington Post • Oct. 5, 2021

Six feet in this state equals four trout, two shovelnose sturgeon, one paddlefish or a fishing rod.

From New York Times • May 1, 2020

Mature moves in on a sluggish school of scientists like a shovelnose on shrimp.

From Time Magazine Archive

The next shark that came was a single shovelnose.

From "The Old Man and The Sea" by Ernest Hemingway