snailfish

American  

[sneyl-fish] / ˈsneɪlˌfɪʃ /

noun

plural

snailfish,

plural

snailfishes

1. any of several elongate, smooth-skinned fishes of the family Liparididae, inhabiting cold seas, having the ventral fins modified to form a sucking disk.

---

snailfish British  

/ ˈsneɪlˌfɪʃ /

noun

1. another name for sea snail

---

Etymology

Origin of snailfish

First recorded in 1830–40; snail + fish

Example Sentences

The deepest marine life filmed before this expedition was at 8,336m - a snailfish that was filmed swimming in a deep ocean trench off the coast of Japan in 2023.

From BBC • Jul. 30, 2025

In addition to jellyfish, crustaceans and macroalgae were other important components of the diet of some species, while fish species such as the polar cod or snailfish played an important role for other species.

From Science Daily • Feb. 14, 2024

The researchers used landers that carried dead fish as bait; deep-sea crustaceans ate the bait, and the snailfish came to eat the crustaceans.

From Scientific American • Apr. 7, 2023

A team of Australian and Japanese researchers has set the record for the deepest fish ever filmed, after observing a type of snailfish swimming more than five miles underwater.

From Washington Times • Apr. 5, 2023

The snailfish, of the Pseudoliparis belyaevi species, are the first to be caught below 8,000 metres, the expedition said.

From Reuters • Apr. 3, 2023