Gā'noid or Ga-noid'i-an, n.

n. [N. Lat. ganoidei, Gr. γάνος, brightness, beauty, and εἶδος, form.] (Ichth.) One of an order of fishes characterized by having shining bony scales or plates, the gills as in ordinary fishes, but the optic nerve not decussating. The ganoids were among the earliest of fishes in geological time, and became afterward very numerous, but are now of few species: The order includes the modern gar, in part, and the sturgeon. See FISH. Dana.