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Definition of spiny dogfish

spiny dogfish

Plural:spiny dogfish
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• noun

1

A small, globally abundant species of shark (Squalus acanthias) found in shallow, temperate coastal waters, characterized by a lack of an anal fin and venomous spines located in front of its two dorsal fins.

Example

"During the marine biology lab, students carefully dissected a spiny dogfish to study the internal anatomy of cartilaginous fishes."

Synonyms
View all synonyms for spiny dogfish

• Nearby Words

spinsterhood
spiny
spiny bush viper
spiny dogfish
spiny lizard
spiny softshell turtle
spiny-tailed iguana

Usage Trend

Historical frequency of usage in published text.

180019102020
Data source: Google Books Ngram Viewer

Cite this Entry

Wordmom. (2026). Definition of Spiny dogfish. In Wordmom Dictionary. Retrieved Nov 5, 2026, from https://wordmom.com/dictionary/spiny-dogfish
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