/skwaw"fish'/ , n. , pl. ( esp. collectively ) squawfish , ( esp. referring to two or more kinds or species ) squawfishes .
1. any of several large, voracious cyprinid fishes of the genus Ptychocheilus, inhabiting rivers of the western U.S. and Canada: the Colorado squawfish, P. lucius, is endangered.
2. a viviparous perch, Embiotoca lateralis, living off the Pacific Coast of the U.S.
[ 1880-85, Amer.; SQUAW + FISH ]