Marlin

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For other uses, see Marlin (disambiguation).
Marlin
Striped marlin, Tetrapturus audax
Striped marlin, Tetrapturus audax
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Istiophoridae
Genera

Istiophorus
Makaira
Tetrapturus

common name for are various large fish in the family Istiophoridae, characteri

Traditionally, the true marlins comprised the genus Makaira, with the white and striped marlins in the genus . However, although some recent taxonomies place the black marlin in genus Istiompax. The white and striped marlins are place dwith the spearfishes in the genus Tetrapturus or in their own genus Kajikia albida (Poey, 1860) — white marlin

	                                    Species	Kajikia audax (Philippi, 1887) — striped marlin.

two or three species depending whether th eblue marlin is recognized as one or two species

Istiompax Whitley, 1931 — black marlin

	                                 Genus	Istiophorus Lacepède, 1801 — sailfish	 
	                                 Genus	Kajikia Hirasaka and Nakamura, 1947 	 
	                                 Genus	Makaira Lacepède, 1802 — blue marlin, marlins	 
	                                 Genus	Tetrapturus Rafinesque, 1810 — spearfishes


Marlin, Istiophoridae, is a member of a group of marine fish known as "billfish", and is closely linked to the freshwater trout. A marlin has an elongated body, a spear-like snout, and a long rigid dorsal fin, which extends forwards to form a crest. Its common name is thought to derive from its notional resemblance to a sailor's marlinspike.[1] Even more so than their close relatives the scombrids, marlin are known to be incredibly fast swimmers, reaching speeds of about 110 kilometers per hour (68 mph).[2][3]

The larger species include the Atlantic blue marlin, Makaira nigricans, which have been reliably recorded in excess of 2 meters (6.6 ft) in length and 120 kilograms (260 lb) in weight, and the Black marlin, Makaira indica, which have been reliably recorded in excess of 5 meters (16 ft) in length and 670 kilograms (1,500 lb) in weight. They are popular sporting fish in certain tropical areas.

Marlin are rarely table fare, appearing mostly in fine dining restaurants. Most modern sport fishermen release marlin after unhooking. However, the old fisherman in Ernest Hemingway's novella The Old Man and the Sea was storied to have caught an 18-foot marlin in order to sell its meat at market.

Some large marlin, which may be able to set a record, are taken and weighed on shore. These records are most often recorded in the IGFA World Record Game Fish books.

Classification

The marlins are perciform fish, most closely related to the swordfish and Scombridae.

Family Istiophoridae

  • Genus Istiophorus
    • Istiophorus albicans - Atlantic Sailfish
    • Istiophorus platypterus - Indo-Pacific Sailfish
  • Genus Makaira
    • Makaira indica - Black Marlin
    • Makaira mazara - Indo-Pacific Blue Marlin
    • Makaira nigricans - Atlantic Blue Marlin
  • Genus Tetrapturus
    • Tetrapturus albidus - Atlantic White Marlin
    • Tetrapturus angustirostris - Shortbill Spearfish
    • Tetrapturus audax - Striped Marlin
    • Tetrapturus belone - Mediterranean Spearfish
    • Tetrapturus georgii - Roundscale Spearfish
    • Tetrapturus pfluegeri - Longbill Spearfish

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  1. Douglas Harper (November 2001). marlin. Online Etymological Dictionary.
  2. Johnson, G.D. & Gill, A.C. (1998). in Paxton, J.R. & Eschmeyer, W.N.: Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press, 190–191. ISBN 0-12-547665-5. 
  3. The world's fastest fish
  • "Istiophoridae". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. November 2005 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2005.
  • Block, B. A., J. R. Finnerty, A. F. R. Stewart, and J. Kidd. 1993. Evolution of endothermy in fish: Mapping physiological traits on a molecular phylogeny. Science 260: 210-214.
  • Hebrank, J. H., M. R. Hebrank, J. H. Long, B. A. Block, and S. A. Wainwright. 1990. [http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/reprint/148/1/449.pdf Backbone mechanics of the blue marlin Makaira nigricans (Pisces, Istiophoridae). J. Exp. Biol 148: 449-459. Retrieved December 27, 2008.
  • Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). 2008. Istiophoridae ITIS Taxonomic Serial No.: 172486. Retrieved December 27, 2008.
  • Nelson, J. S. 2006. Fishes of the World, 4th edition. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0471250317.
  • Nelson, J. S. 1994. Fishes of the World, 3rd ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0471547131.
  • Nelson, J. S., E. J. Crossman, H. Espinosa-Perez, L. T. Findley, C. R. Gilbert, R. N. Lea, and J. D. Williams. 2004. Common and Scientific Names of Fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico, 6th edition. Bethesda, MA: American Fisheries Society Special Publication 29.

External links

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