barracuda

barracuda slender, elongated fish of tropical seas. Barracudas have long snouts and projecting lower jaws armed with large, sharp-edged teeth. They are ferocious, striking at anything that gleams, and are considered excellent game fishes. The largest of the group, the great barracuda, averages 5 ft (1.5 m) in length but may reach 10 ft (3 m); it is dangerous to swimmers wearing shiny objects. Other species are the Pacific barracuda (4 ft/1.2 m long) and the smaller Northern barracuda, which is not dangerous. Barracudas are classified in the phylum Chordata , subphylum Vertebrata, class Osteichthyes, order Sphyraenoidei, family Sphyraenidae.

bar·ra·cu·da / ˌberəˈkoōdə/ • n. (pl. same or barracudas ) a large, predatory tropical marine fish (genus Sphyraena, family Sphyraenidae) with a slender body and large jaws and teeth. Its several species include the inedible and poisonous great barracuda (S. barracuda) and the edible Pacific barracuda (S. argentea).