scorpenidæ

pl. [Lat. scorpœn(a); fem. pl. adj. suff.- idæ.] 1. Ichthy .: A family of Acanthopterygian Fishes, division Perciformes, with numerous genera, from the tropics and the temperate zones. Body oblong, more or le compre ed, covered with ordinary scales or naked; dentition feeble; some bones of the head, especially the angle of the præoperculum, armed; ventrals thoracic. They are carnivorous marine fishes. 2. Palæont .: Only fo il representative. a species of Scorpæna from the Eocene of Oran. scor-pe-noid, a. & 8. [Lat.scorpœn(a), and Gr. eidos resemblance.] 3583 2. Botany (of a cymose inflorescence): Rolled up laterally like a crosier, and unrolling as the flowers expand, as in the Forget-me-not. B. As subst.: A cymose inflorescence of the character described under A. 2.