"Yeah, there's a word for it," Dr. Bailly said of the following definition: the first spine of the dorsal fin of a pediculate fish migrated to the upper lip and transformed into a complex tentacle that serves as a lure to attract other fish within range of the capacious jaws.
"It's pretty complicated," replied Cooper Komatsu, speller 13, on his way to misspelling "illicium."
Cooper, a California eighth grader, tied for 11th place last year.
Before the finals, he said he gained more confidence from making it through some tough earlier rounds.
"In terms of confidence, it helped me," he said. "It lets me know I did that, I can do it again."
