butterfish

but·ter·fish  (btr-fsh)

n. pl. butterfish or but·ter·fish·es

1. A marine food fish (Poronotus triacanthus) of the North American Atlantic coast, having a flattened body.

2. Any of various similar or related fishes, such as the moonfish and gunnel.

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[From its slippery mucous coating.]

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butterfish [ˈbʌtəˌfɪʃ]

n pl -fish, -fishes

1. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Animals) an eel-like blennioid food fish, Pholis gunnellus, occurring in North Atlantic coastal regions: family Pholidae (gunnels). It has a slippery scaleless golden brown skin with a row of black spots along the base of the long dorsal fin

2. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Animals) Also called greenbone (Maori) marari an edible reef fish, Coridodax pullus, of esp S New Zealand. It has a slippery purplish-grey to olive-green skin and is often found browsing on kelp

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	butterfish - any of numerous small flat Atlantic food fish having smooth skin Pholis gunnellus, rock gunnel, butterfish - slippery scaleless food fish of the northern Atlantic coastal waters stromateid, stromateid fish, butterfish - small marine fish with a short compressed body and feeble spines saltwater fish - flesh of fish from the sea used as food
	2.	butterfish - small marine fish with a short compressed body and feeble spines stromateid, stromateid fish percoid, percoid fish, percoidean - any of numerous spiny-finned fishes of the order Perciformes family Stromateidae, Stromateidae - butterfishes: harvest fishes; dollar fishes dollarfish, Poronotus triacanthus - small food fish of Atlantic coast California pompano, palometa, Palometa simillima - smaller than Florida pompano; common in West Indies harvestfish, Paprilus alepidotus - butterfish up to a foot long of Atlantic waters from Chesapeake Bay to Argentina driftfish - small (6 inches) tropical butterfishes found worldwide driftfish - larger butterfishes of the western Atlantic from the New York area to the northern Gulf of Mexico barrelfish, black rudderfish, Hyperglyphe perciformis - blackish fish of New England waters butterfish - any of numerous small flat Atlantic food fish having smooth skin
	3.	butterfish - slippery scaleless food fish of the northern Atlantic coastal waters Pholis gunnellus, rock gunnel bracketed blenny, gunnel - small eellike fishes common in shallow waters of the northern Atlantic genus Pholis, Pholis - type genus of the Pholidae: gunnels butterfish - any of numerous small flat Atlantic food fish having smooth skin