devilfish

Japanese: devilfish

...The name comes from the fact that there are bat-ear-shaped fins (cephalic fins) on both sides of the front end of the head, which resemble spools of thread. The English name devil fish or devil ray comes from the shape of the pectoral fins when spread out. It lives on the coasts and offshore of southern Japan, and is distributed as far south as Hawaii.

Octopus (Tako/Chapter fish)

...This theory seems to have arisen from the phenomenon in which the male's tentacles, which act as reproductive organs during mating, are inserted into the female's mantle cavity. Because octopuses attract and prey on approaching fish, they are considered to be seducers, traitors, or even demons, and the name devilfish has become common. In the West, there have been legends of sea monsters since ancient times, and the octopus has been confused with the 12-legged, 6-headed monster Skylla described in the Odyssey.

*Some of the terminology that mentions "devilfish" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

Japanese:

…頭部前端の左右にコウモリの耳のような形のひれ(頭鰭（とうき）)があり，これが糸巻を連想させることに由来した名称。胸びれを広げたときの形から英名はdevil fishまたはdevil rayという。南日本の沿岸や沖合に生息し，南はハワイまで分布する。…

【タコ(蛸∥章魚)】より

…これは，交尾期に生殖器の役を果たす雄の触腕が雌の外套腔に挿入される現象から生じた説と思われる。タコは近づく魚を引き寄せて捕食するので，誘惑者や裏切り者，あるいは悪魔と同一視され，devilfishの名が一般化している。西洋では古くから海の怪物の伝説が存在したが，タコも《オデュッセイア》に語られる12本足と6頭の怪物スキュラSkyllaなどと混同された。…

※「devilfish」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について | 情報

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