tarponn.
/ˈtɑːpɒn/ The Jew-fish, Megalops atlanticus, a giant representative of the herring tribe found in the warmer waters of the western Atlantic: see jewfish n. and Elops n. Sometimes extended to the East Indian species M. cyprinoides ( M. thrissoides).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > fish > class Osteichthyes or Teleostomi > subclass Actinopterygii > subdivision Teleostei > [noun] > order Elopiformes > member of family Megalopidae
ox-eyea1642
tarpon1699
megalops1834
savanilla1884
sabalo1889
silver king1889
megalopine1890
1699 L. Wafer New Voy. & Descr. Isthmus Amer. 92 Of these they make Nets for Fishing, but only for great Fish as Tarpoms, or the like.
1699 W. Dampier Voy. & Descr. ii. i. 12 The Tarpom is a large scaly Fish, shaped much like a Salmon, but somewhat flatter..with Scales as big as a Half Crown.
1796 J. G. Stedman Narr. Exped. Surinam II. 229 A large fish..called tarpoen..which is white, about 2 feet 6 inches.
1888 G. B. Goode Amer. Fishes 406 The sailors' name for this fish,..is ‘Tarpum’ or ‘Tarpon’.
1901 Scotsman 4 Oct. 5/1 The largest tarpon ever captured..weighed 205 lb., and measured 8 ft. and 2 in. in length.
Compounds
attributive and in other combinations.
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1887 Sporting Life (Philadelphia) 22 June 2/6 Tarpon fishing is not half so exciting as catching man-eating sharks with a hand-line.
1888 G. B. Goode Amer. Fishes 412 Tugging at a tarpum-line in the Gulf of Mexico.
1895 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Aug. 281 He has made a special study of tarpon-tackle during his annual visits to the best tarpon-waters.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1910; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
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