目高

Compound of 目(め) (me, “eye”) + 高(たか) (taka, “high”), in reference to its appearance.^[1] The ta changes to da as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

• (Tokyo) メダカ [mèdáká] (Heiban – [0])^[2]
• IPA^(key): [me̞da̠ka̠]

目(め)高(だか) or 目高(メダカ) • (medaka) 

1. medaka, Japanese ricefish, Japanese killifish, Oryzias latipes, a small freshwater fish

   Synonym: 浮巣 (ukisu)

As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary).