trumpetfish

American  

[truhm-pit-fish] / ˈtrʌm pɪtˌfɪʃ /

noun

trumpetfishes plural

1. any of several fishes of the family Aulostomidae, having a long, tubular snout, as the slender, brown-flecked Aulostomus maculatus, inhabiting waters on both sides of the tropical Atlantic Ocean, having the habit of orienting vertically in the water and capturing its prey from that position.

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• trumpetfishes
  plural
• trumpetfish
  plural

Etymology

Origin of trumpetfish

First recorded in 1660–70; trumpet + fish

Example Sentences

The final experiment involved attaching the trumpetfish to the side of the parrotfish and moving the pair together.

From DOGO News • Sep. 7, 2023

The Cambridge researchers attached 3D plastic models of trumpetfish and parrotfish to a wire pulley system and deployed inside a colony of damselfish.

From DOGO News • Sep. 7, 2023

When the trumpetfish model was pulled along the wire, the nearby damselfish swam up to inspect it but then quickly fled, clearly perceiving it as a threat.

From New York Times • Aug. 7, 2023

So last year, Dr. Matchette and his colleagues set out to see whether they could prove that trumpetfish were truly doing something much like that used by duck hunters of old.

From New York Times • Aug. 7, 2023

A few yards away, a long-nosed trumpetfish stood on its tail over a patch of bone-white sand.

From Washington Post • Oct. 14, 2015