Centriscoid

/sɛnˈtrɪskɔɪd/ adjective

Definition

Resembling or related to fishes of the family Centriscidae; having characteristics similar to centriscids.

Etymology

From Centriscus (genus name) plus Greek -oid 'resembling.' The suffix -oid is used in biology to indicate similarity without exact membership in a taxon.

Kelly Says

Centriscoid is used by ichthyologists to describe fish that aren't quite centriscids but have evolved similar hunting adaptations—it's a way of saying 'evolution converged on this weird design in multiple fish families.'

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