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swordfish

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swordfish

a large scombroid fish, Xiphias gladius, with a very long upper jaw: valued as a food and game fish: family Xiphiidae
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

Swordfish

[′sȯrd‚fish]
(astronomy)
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Swordfish

 

(Xiphias gladius), the only modern representative of the family Xiphiidae of the order Perciformes. The upper jaw is extended into a swordlike projection. There are no ventral fins. The naked body is up to 4 m long and weighs up to half a ton. The swordfish is found in all oceans, primarily in the tropics; it is also encountered in arctic latitudes in the north. In the USSR the fish is found in the Black, Baltic, and Barents seas, as well as in the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Azov. Swordfish generally are solitary animals. Mating occurs in the warm season; the roe are pelagic. Swordfish feed on nektons, including squids, tuna, and sharks. They are commercially valuable.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Despite the decline of west coast swordfish operations, local demand continues to exceed domestic production, a scenario that further fuels the U.S.
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Caption: An MRI scan reveals that swordfish have an oil-producing organ (outlined in black) tucked just behind its rapier-like bill.
Miles way from its usual haunts in the Atlantic, Indian or Pacific Ocean, the swordfish was caught off the South Tyneside coastline when it was netted by Ian Wakenshaw aboard the fishing catamaran Beverley Ann.
Far from its usual territory in the Atlantic, Indian or Pacific Ocean this weighty swordfish was netted in North East waters along the South Tyneside coastline.
Valletta, Malta, Muharram 26, 1433, Dec 21, 2011, SPA -- Hundreds of Maltese fishermen on Wednesday marched to the offices of the island-nation's prime minister to protest plans by the European Union to reduce Malta's quota for swordfish catches, dpa reported.
Oceana also sounds the alarm over Mediterranean swordfish, catches of which are made up of 70% immature fish.
He was flying a virtually obsolete Fairey Swordfish biplane with broken radar but still managed to spot the sub which had been attacking Allied convoys to Russia and had already sunk four ships.
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