devilfish

noun10

1. •
   Certain fish in the genus Paraplesiops; see blue devilfish, Bleeker's devilfish.

   • Devilfish are rather shy and difficult to approach. However, patience and perseverence^([sic]) usually pay off. — 1989
2. •
   (old-fashioned) Any of several not closely related marine animals.
3. •
   (old-fashioned) The octopus.

   • The unattractive reptilian specimen in the man’s right hand is an octopus, or devilfish, which constitutes a favorite dish with the Asiatics of the islands. — 1899
4. •
   (old-fashioned) The giant squid or kraken.

   • It can easily be imagined that such creatures as these could drown a man, or upset a boat, and they have furnished material for many fabulous accounts of sea-serpents and devil-fishes. — 1880
5. •
   (old-fashioned) The gray whale, Eschrichtius robustus.

   • The California gray whale, or devil-fish (Rhachianectes glaucus), is found only in the North Pacific, and is an object of pursuit by the shore stations established along that coast. — 1887
6. •
   (old-fashioned) The anglerfish, Lophius piscatorius.

   • The four successful trawls yielded us examples of the Angler or Devil-fish, Lophius piscatorius; […] — 1896
7. •
   (old-fashioned) The manta ray; any ray in the genus Mobula.

   • The Tectospondyli contains those dog-fishes which have no anal fin, and the rays and devil-fishes. — 1901
8. •
   (old-fashioned) The devil ray, Mobula mobular.
9. •
   The suckermouth catfish, Hypostomus plecostomus (translating Spanish pez diablo).

   • In another alarm of nature spiraling to hell in Florida, scientists suspect global warming has enabled devil fish to plague and ravage the St. Johns River. — 2022
10. •
    (old-fashioned) The piranha.

    • The same carnivorous instincts are likewise attributed to the devil-fish, or piranha so common in the Rio San Francisco, and the terror of bathers. — 1860