grunion

grunion
/grun"yeuhn/, n.
a small, silvery food fish, Leuresthes tenuis, of southern California, that spawns at high tide in wet sand.
[1915-20; prob. < Sp gruñon grunter, deriv. of gruñir to grunt < L grunnire]

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Edible Pacific fish (Leuresthes tenuis) found along the western coast of the U.S. In the warm months, it lays its eggs in beach sand during a full or new moon when the tide cycle is at its peak.

The young hatch and enter the ocean on the next spring tide, two weeks later. Grunion reach a length of about 8 in. (20 cm).

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fish
also called  California grunion 

      (species Leuresthes tenuis), small Pacific fish of the family Atherinidae (order Atheriniformes). The species is found in the Pacific Ocean along the western coast of the United States. A unique feature of the grunion's breeding biology results in its spawning on particular nights during the warm months, just after the highest tide. The eggs are actually laid in the sand on the beach during a full or new moon when the tide cycle is at its peak (spring tide). The young hatch out and enter the ocean following inundation during the subsequent spring tide, which occurs two weeks later. Grunion are small fish, attaining a length of about 20 cm (8 inches), and are highly edible.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Grunion — Unterwegs zum Laichplatz Systematik Überordnung: Ährenfischverwandte (Atherinomorpha) Ordnung …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • grunion — ☆ grunion [grun′yən ] n. pl. grunion or grunions [prob. < Sp gruñón, grumbler < L grunnire, to grunt < IE * gru , echoic] a silverside fish (Leuresthes tenuis) of the California coast: it spawns on sandy beaches during high tides in the… …   English World dictionary

  • Grunīon — (a. Geogr.), s. Grynion …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Grunion —   [zu spanisch gruñón »brummig«], Art der Ährenfische …   Universal-Lexikon

  • grunion — 1917, from Amer.Sp. gruñon grunting fish, from grunir to grunt, from L. grunnire, from Gk. gryzein to grunt, from gry a grunt. The unrelated American fish called the grunt is so called from the noise they make when taken …   Etymology dictionary

  • Grunion — ] With these regulations, the resource seems to be maintaining itself at a fairly constant level. While the population size is not known, all research points to a rather restricted resource that is appropriately harvested under existing… …   Wikipedia

  • Grunion — Leuresthes Grunion …   Wikipédia en Français

  • grunion — paprastasis grunionas statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas taksono rangas rūšis atitikmenys: lot. Leuresthes tenuis angl. California grunion; grunion; least smelt rus. грунион ryšiai: platesnis terminas – grunionai …   Žuvų pavadinimų žodynas

  • grunion — noun Etymology: probably from Spanish gruñón grunter Date: 1917 a silverside (Leuresthes tenuis) of the California coast notable for the regularity with which it comes inshore to spawn at nearly full moon …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • grunion — noun Either of two small fish, of the genus Leuresthes, found along the coast of Mexico and southern California, that spawn in the wet sand at certain high tides …   Wiktionary

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