sarcastic fringehead

sarcastic fringehead (sar-KAS-tik FRINJ-hed) - n., a marine fish (Neoclinus blanchardi) with a row of fleshy processes on the head and aggressive territorial behavior.


Found in Pacific coastal waters from central California to central Baja. The fringehead part comes from the fringes on its head:


Thanks, WikiMedia!

(There are btw 10 other species of fringeheads, all living on various Pacific coasts. The sarcastic fringehead is the largest, growing to 12in/25cm, and indeed is the largest of its family, the blennies.) The sarcastic part comes from being very bite-y, which is the original meaning of the Ancient Greek sarkasmós -- tho' our current meaning of sarcastic for a biting comment dates to back then.

---L.