jeniguana

English

Etymology

Said by Century to be from Cuban Spanish [Term?] "from a native West Indian name".

Noun

jeniguana

1. The cottonwick fish, Haemulon melanurum.
   • 1903, David Starr Jordan, Barton Warren Evermann, American Food and Game Fishes: A Popular Account of All the Species Found in America North of the Equator, with Keys for Ready Identification, Life Histories and Methods of Capture, page 425:

     Haemulon melanurum, the jeniguana, is known from the West Indies and south to Brazil. It is rather common at Havana, but was not found by us in Porto Rico. It grows to a foot in length and is a good food-fish.

   • 1976, Gar Goodson, The Many-splendored Fishes of the Atlantic Coast: Including the Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, Bermuda, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean : 408 Fishes in Full Color:

     Cottonwick (jeniguana) Not a common fish but a handsome sight to see because of its bold, scissor-like dorsal and tail stripes and the bandit-like mask which usually conceals the eye. Some fishes lack the eye stripe.