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[Gr. ἄκανθα ( akan tha) = a thorn, a prickle; μέτριος ( metrios ) = within measure, moderate.] a thorn; οὐρά (our a) = tail.] A genus of fishes belonging to the family Teuthide. The A. chirurgus of the West Indies is called the surgeon-fish, because it extracts blood from the hands of those who, in handling it, forget that it has a spine in its tail. The American Dictionary and Cyclopedia 44