Guppy

Guppy
   , GUPPY SUBMARINE
   R. J. Lechmere Guppy (1836-1916), president of the Scientific Association of Trinidad, lends his name to a little tropical fish he discovered that has been the delight of children and adults alike ever since. In 1868 he presented specimens to the British Museum, which put them on display. Almost immediately, the guppy, which was named Gerardinus guppy after him but later renamed Poecilis reticulate, became a favorite for public and home aquariums throughout the world, and still are one of the best-known and most popular small tropical fish. The male guppy is seldom longer than two inches, about one-half the length of the female. But unlike the female, the male is very brilliantly spotted and streaked with rainbow colors. The female is a slow-moving, grayish-green fish.
   The guppy is native to Venezuela, Trinidad, and neighboring regions.
   They have been imported to other areas because they are mosquitolarvae eaters, and so help reduce the incidence of malaria. In World War II a small submarine was developed that was twice as fast as the older styles and more maneuverable. Appropriately, these midget submarines were called guppies. But in this instance the name was an acronym for "greater underwater propulsion power."

Dictionary of eponyms. . 2013.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • guppy — guppy …   Dictionnaire des rimes

  • Guppy — Guppys, oben ein ♂, unten zwei ♀ einer Wildform unbestimmter Herkunft. Systematik Unterordnung: Cyprinodontoidei …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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  • Guppy — se puede referir a: Poecilia reticulata, un pez tropical. Robert John Lechmere Guppy (1836 1916), naturalista británico descubridor del pez anterior. Aero Spacelines Pregnant Guppy, avión de transporte. Aero Spacelines Mini Guppy, avión de… …   Wikipedia Español

  • guppy — [ gypi ] n. m. • mil. XXe; n. pr. ♦ Petit poisson téléostéen d eau douce (cyprinodontidés), richement coloré, qui peut s élever en aquarium. Des guppys ou des guppies. ● guppy nom masculin (de R. P. Guppy, nom propre) Petit poisson vivipare… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • guppy — n. [Named after R. J. L. Guppy, who brought speciments to the British museum. RHUD] A small freshwater fish of South America and West Indies ({Lebistes reticulatus} or {Poecilia reticulata}, originaly called {Gerardinus guppyi}), often kept in… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • guppy — GÚPPY s. m. Mic peşte de acvariu cu coloraţie bogată şi variată, originar din America de Sud. Din fr. Guppy Trimis de blaurb, 22.03.2006. Sursa: MDN …   Dicționar Român

  • guppy — 1925, named for R.J.L. Guppy, Trinidad clergyman who supplied the first specimen (1866) to the British Museum. The family name is from a place in Dorset. The class of streamlined U.S. submarines (1948) is an acronym from greater underwater… …   Etymology dictionary

  • guppy — ► NOUN (pl. guppies) ▪ a small freshwater fish native to tropical America, widely kept in aquaria. ORIGIN named after the Trinidadian clergyman R. J. Lechmere Guppy (1836 1916), who sent the first specimen to the British Museum …   English terms dictionary

  • guppy — [gup′ē] n. pl. guppies [after R. J. L. Guppy, of Trinidad, who first provided specimens for the British Museum] a small, freshwater fish (Poecilia reticulata), a livebearer native to Barbados, Trinidad, and Venezuela: it is often kept in… …   English World dictionary

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