Definition of silverfish Silverfish

sil•ver•fish

We found 9 definitions of silverfish from 5 different sources.

What does silverfish mean?

Noun Plural: silverfishes
silverfish - silver-grey wingless insect found in houses feeding on book bindings and starched clothing
		Lepisma saccharina
		thysanuran insect, thysanuron primitive wingless insects: bristletail
silverfish - a silvery variety of Carassius auratus

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silverfish (Noun)
A small wingless insect with silvery scales, a type of bristletail.
silverfish (Noun)
The tarpum.
silverfish (Noun)
A white variety of the goldfish.

"Lepisma saccharina" (commonly called the fishmoth, urban silverfish or just the silverfish) is a small, wingless insect. Typically it is between half an inch and one inch (12–25 mm). Its common name comes from the animal's silvery blue color, combined with the fish-like appearance of its movements. The scientific name indicates the silverfish's diet of carbohydrates such as sugar or starches. It belongs to the basal insect order Thysanura, and the species is estimated to have existed for over 300 million years, originating in the Paleozoic Era. Often misidentified as a silverfish is the house centipede, another house-dwelling arthropod that exhibits rapid, fluid movement.

An eyeless species of silverfish, or a close relative, was discovered in January 2006 in caves in Sequoia National Park, California.