kelpfish

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A blennioid fish, Heterostichus rostratus. It has a scaly body with a conspicuous lateral line, a small pointed head, and a very long dorsal fin with about 37 spines and 13 rays, the 5 anterior spines being wide apart, and separated from the rest by a notch. It attains a length of about 15 inches, and is common along the Pacific coast of America, from San Francisco to Santiago.
2. n. A labroid fish, Platyglossus semicinctus, with 9 dorsal spines, and of a greenish-brown color with bright reflections. It is common southward along the Lower Californian coast.
3. n. Any fish of the family Ditremidæ, found on the west coast of the United States.
4. n. A name applied to a number of other, unrelated fishes living among the kelp, as rock-fish is applied to those living in rocky places. In Australasia: The butter-fish, Coridodax pullus, of the family Labridæ.

Wiktionary

1. n. A perciform fish in the family Chironemidae, native to coastal Australia and New Zealand.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. (Zoöl.) A small California food fish (Heterostichus rostratus), living among kelp. The name is also applied to species of the genus Platyglossus.