tit-fish

Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris

n.


a name given in North Australiato the Sea-slug, or Trepang; because the appearance of itstentacles suggests the teat of a cow.

1880. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `Proceedings of the LinnaeanSociety of New South Wales,' vol. v. pt. ii. p. 128:

«G. F. Jaeger, in 1833, . . . enumerates four [species of Trepang), viz. Trepang edulis, T. ananas, T. impatiens and T. peruviana. The first ofthese is certainly found on the reefs, and is called by thefishermen `redfish.' . . . Next to this is the `tit-fish'. . . studded with somewhat distant large tentacles, whichproject nearly an inch or so.»

1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. ii. p. 22:

«They were engaged in smoking a large haul of `tit' fish, whichthey had made on a neighbouring reef.»

Related Words