Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

air bladder

(Encyclopedia)air bladder, in fish: see swim bladder. ...

lionfish

(Encyclopedia)lionfish, common name for a genus (Pterois) of the family Scorpaenidae (see rockfish), comprising venomous subtropical marine fish native to the South Pacific, the Indian Ocean, and the Red Sea. Nativ...

betta

(Encyclopedia)betta bĕtˈə [key] or fighting fish, small, freshwater fish of the genus Betta, found in Thailand and the Malay Peninsula. Best known is the Siamese fighting fish, Betta splendens. Mature males of t...

carp

(Encyclopedia)carp, hardy freshwater fish, Cyprinus carpio, the largest member of the minnow family; it is also known as the common carp. A native of Black, Caspian, and Aral sea basins of Eurasia, the carp has bee...

midshipman

(Encyclopedia)midshipman or midshipman fish: see toadfish. ...

mercury poisoning

(Encyclopedia)mercury poisoning, tissue damage resulting from exposure to more than trace amounts of the element mercury or its compounds. Elemental mercury (the silver liquid familiar from thermometers) is the mos...

poi

(Encyclopedia)poi, slightly fermented, sticky food paste eaten in the Pacific islands, usually accompanied with meat, fish, or vegetables. It is made by grinding or pounding the roasted, peeled roots of the taro. ...

Aomori

(Encyclopedia)Aomori äōmôˈrē [key], city, capital of Aomori prefecture, extreme N Honshu, Japan, on Aomori Bay. First opened to foreign trade in 1906, Aomori is now the chief trans...

gar

(Encyclopedia)gar, member of the family Lepisosteidae, freshwater fishes found in the warmer rivers and lakes of the S United States, Central America, Mexico, and the West Indies. Gars are highly predacious and des...

marlin

(Encyclopedia)marlin, common name for open-sea fish related to the sailfish (family Istiophoridae) and prized in sport fishing. The best known is the Atlantic blue marlin, Makaira nigricans, found in the Gulf Strea...

Browse by Subject