Indo-Pacific sailfish

The Indo-Pacific sailfish is a sailfish native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans and is naturalized in the Atlantic where it has entered the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal as a Lessepsian migrant. It is dark blue on top, brown-blue laterally, silvery white underbelly; upper jaw elongated in the form of a spear; first dorsal fin greatly enlarged in the form of a sail, with many black cones, its front squared off, highest at its midpoint; pelvic fins very narrow, reaching almost to the anus; body covered with embedded scales, blunt at end; lateral line curved above pectoral fin, then straight to base of tail. They have a large and sharp bill, which they use for hunting. They feed on tuna and mackerel, some of the fastest fish in the ocean. Most authorities only recognise a single species of sailfish, I. platypterus.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Indo-Pacific sailfish”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

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English

Indo-Pacific sailfish, Sailfish, Atlantic sailfish, bayonet fish, Bayonet-fish, Pacific Sailfish, sailfish

Other scientific names: Histiophorus dubius, Histiophorus gladius, Histiophorus immaculatus, Histiophorus indicus, Histiophorus orientalis, Istiophorus amarui, Istiophorus brookei, Istiophorus dubius, Istiophorus eriquius, Istiophorus gladifer, Istiophorus gladius, Istiophorus gladus, Istiophorus greyi, Istiophorus greyii, Istiophorus immaculatus, Istiophorus japonicus, Istiophorus ludibundus, Istiophorus orientalis, Istiophorus triactis, Scomber gladius, Xiphias platypterus, Xiphias velifer