''Tetrapturus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

marlin Marlins are fish from the family Istiophoridae, which includes about 10 species. A marlin has an elongated body, a spear-like snout or bill, and a long, rigid dorsal fin which extends forward to form a crest. Its common name is thought to deri ...

s commonly called spearfish, found in tropical and subtropical oceans throughout the world. Some are popular

sport fish Game fish, sport fish or quarry refer to popular fish pursued by recreational anglers, and can be freshwater or saltwater fish. Game fish can be eaten after being caught, or released after capture. Some game fish are also targeted commercial ...

big-game fishing Big-game fishing, also known as offshore sportfishing, offshore gamefishing or blue-water fishing, is a form of recreational fishing targeting large game fish, usually done on a large body of water such as the ocean. History Big-game fishing st ...

Species

There are currently four recognized species in this genus: * ''

Tetrapturus angustirostris The shortbill spearfish (''Tetrapturus angustirostris''), sometimes called the short-nosed spearfish, is a species of marlin native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans, with occasional records from the Atlantic Ocean. This species occurs in open w ...

'' S. Tanaka (I), 1915 (Shortbill spearfish) * ''

Tetrapturus belone The Mediterranean spearfish (''Tetrapturus belone'') is a species of marlin native to the Mediterranean Sea where it is particularly common around Italy, although there is a probable record of one caught off Madeira. It is an open-water fish, bei ...

Rafinesque Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz (; October 22, 1783September 18, 1840) was a French 19th-century polymath born near Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire and self-educated in France. He traveled as a young man in the United States, ultimat ...

, 1810 (Mediterranean spearfish) * ''

Tetrapturus georgii The roundscale spearfish (''Tetrapturus georgii'') is a species of marlin native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean from Portugal to Madeira, the Canary Islands to northern Africa and the western Mediterranean Sea to Sicily (man) it, Sicili ...

'' R. T. Lowe, 1841 (Roundscale spearfish) * ''

Tetrapturus pfluegeri The longbill spearfish (''Tetrapturus pfluegeri'') is a species of marlin native to the Atlantic Ocean where it is found above the thermocline in open waters between 40°N and 35°S. This species can reach a length of FL and the maximum weight ...

'' C. R. Robins & de Sylva, 1963 (Longbill spearfish)

References

Marine fish genera Taxa named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque {{Scombroidei-stub