sphyræna

[Lat., from Gr. sphyraina =a kind of sea-fish.] Ichthy.: Barracuda, the sole genus of the family Sphyrænide (q. v.). Large, voracious fishes from IMG:content-0029.png:[graphic] sphyrænidæ the coasts of tropical and sub-tropical seas. Some of them attain a length of eight feet, and attack bathers. They are used as food, but occasionally their flesh contracts deleterious properties, from their having fed on poisonous fishes.