sailfish, common name for a marine game and food fish belonging to the family Istiophoridae and related to the swordfish swordfish, large food and game fish, Xiphias gladius, of the warmer Atlantic and Pacific waters, related to the sailfish. It is named for its sharp, broad, elongated upper jaw, which it uses to flail and pierce its prey of smaller fish, rising beneath a school
..... Click the link for more information. and the marlin marlin, common name for open-sea fish related to the sailfish and swordfish (family Istiophoridae) and prized by sportsmen. The best known is the blue marlin of the genus Makaira, found in the Gulf Stream as far north as Long Island.
..... Click the link for more information. . It is named for its high, wide dorsal fin, colored deep blue with black spots. Like the marlin it has a pikelike upper jaw and small scales embedded in its skin. The average length is 6 ft (180 cm), though it may reach 10 ft (305 cm). The Atlantic sailfish, Istiophorus americanus, found north to Cape Cod in summer, averages 60 lb (27 kg) in weight, while the Pacific sailfish, I. orientalis, grows to 100 lb (45 kg). Sailfish are classified in the phylum Chordata Chordata , phylum of animals having a notochord, or dorsal stiffening rod, as the chief internal skeletal support at some stage of their development. Most chordates are vertebrates (animals with backbones), but the phylum also includes some small marine invertebrate
..... Click the link for more information. , subphylum Vertebrata, class Osteichthyes, order Perciformes, family Istiophoridae.
Valued food and game fish in the genus Istiophorus (family Istiophoridae) of warm and temperate waters worldwide. It has a long, rounded spear extending from its snout but is distinguished from marlins and related species by its slimmer form, long pelvic fins, and especially its large, sail-like dorsal fin, which is bright blue and spotted. Deep blue above and silvery below, they grow to about 11 ft (3.4 m) long and 200 lbs (90 kg) or more. They feed mainly on other fishes. Its classification is uncertain, and one (I. platypterus) to several species may be recognized.
sailfish
sailfish [′sāl‚fish]
Sailfish
..... Click the link for more information. and the marlin marlin, common name for open-sea fish related to the sailfish and swordfish (family Istiophoridae) and prized by sportsmen. The best known is the blue marlin of the genus Makaira, found in the Gulf Stream as far north as Long Island.
..... Click the link for more information. . It is named for its high, wide dorsal fin, colored deep blue with black spots. Like the marlin it has a pikelike upper jaw and small scales embedded in its skin. The average length is 6 ft (180 cm), though it may reach 10 ft (305 cm). The Atlantic sailfish, Istiophorus americanus, found north to Cape Cod in summer, averages 60 lb (27 kg) in weight, while the Pacific sailfish, I. orientalis, grows to 100 lb (45 kg). Sailfish are classified in the phylum Chordata Chordata , phylum of animals having a notochord, or dorsal stiffening rod, as the chief internal skeletal support at some stage of their development. Most chordates are vertebrates (animals with backbones), but the phylum also includes some small marine invertebrate
..... Click the link for more information. , subphylum Vertebrata, class Osteichthyes, order Perciformes, family Istiophoridae.
sailfish
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Sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus)
(credit: D. Corson—Shostal)
sailfish
1. any of several large scombroid game fishes of the genus Istiophorus, such as I. albicans (Atlantic sailfish), of warm and tropical seas: family Istiophoridae. They have an elongated upper jaw and a long sail-like dorsal fin
2. another name for basking shark
sailfish [′sāl‚fish]
(vertebrate zoology)
Any of several large fishes of the genusIstiophoruscharacterized by a very large dorsal fin that is highest behind its middle.
Sailfish
(Istiophorus platypterus,) a fish of the family Xi-phiidae of the order Perciformes. The sailfish reaches a length of 3.3 m and a weight of 100 kg. The upper jaw is spearlike, and the dorsal fin is high and resembles a sail. The ventral fins are long. When the sailfish moves rapidly, all the fins fold into special cavities. To make sharp turns, the fish raises it dorsal fin upright. The sailfish inhabits tropical and subtropical waters of all oceans. It is most commonly encountered in coastal waters and is an object of commercial and sport fishing. The sailfish feeds on other fishes and squid.
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