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Sailfish
The sailfish is one or two species of marine fish in the genus ''Istiophorus'', which belong to the family Istiophoridae ( marlins). They are predominantly blue to gray in colour and have a characteristically large dorsal fin known as the sail, which often stretches the entire length of the back. Another notable characteristic is the elongated rostrum (bill) consistent with that of other marlins and the swordfish, which together constitute what are known as billfish in sport fishing circles. Sailfish live in colder pelagic waters of all Earth's oceans, and hold the record for the highest speed of any marine animal. Species There is a dispute based on the taxonomy of the sailfish, and either one or two species have been recognized.McGrouther, M. (2013). Sailfish, Istiophorus platypterus.' Australian Museum. Retrieved 26 April 2013. No differences have been found in mtDNA, morphometrics or meristics between the two supposed species and most authorities now only recogni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billfish
The billfish are a group (Xiphioidea) of saltwater fish, saltwater predatory fish characterised by prominent pointed beak, bills (rostrum (anatomy), rostra), and by their large size; some are longer than . Extant billfish include sailfish and marlin, which make up the family Istiophoridae; and swordfish, sole member of the family Xiphiidae. They are often apex predators which feed on a wide variety of smaller fish, crustaceans and cephalopods. These two families are sometimes classified as belonging to the order (biology), order Istiophoriformes, a group which originated around 71 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous, with the two families divergent evolution, diverging around 15 million years ago in the Late Miocene. However, they are also classified as being closely related to the mackerels and tuna within the suborder Scombroidei of the order Perciformes. However, the 5th edition of the ''Fishes of the World'' does recognise the Istiophoriformes as a valid order, albeit in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Istiophoridae
Marlins are fish from the family Istiophoridae, which includes between 9 and 11 species, depending on the taxonomic authority. Name The family's common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often con ... is thought to derive from their resemblance to a sailor's marlinspike. Taxonomy The family name Istiophoridae comes from the genus ''Istiophorus'' which first placed the species ''Istiophorus platypterus'' by George Kearsley Shaw in 1792 from the Greek word ''istion'' meaning "sail" that describes the shape of the species's dorsal fins. Family description Marlins have elongated bodies, a spear-like snout or bill, and a long, rigid dorsal fin which extends forward to form a Crest (feathers), crest. Marlins, an apex predator, are among the fastest marine swimmers. Howe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marlin
Marlins are fish from the family Istiophoridae, which includes between 9 and 11 species, depending on the taxonomic authority. Name The family's common name is thought to derive from their resemblance to a sailor's marlinspike. Taxonomy The family name Istiophoridae comes from the genus '' Istiophorus'' which first placed the species '' Istiophorus platypterus'' by George Kearsley Shaw in 1792 from the Greek word ''istion'' meaning "sail" that describes the shape of the species's dorsal fins. Family description Marlins have elongated bodies, a spear-like snout or bill, and a long, rigid dorsal fin which extends forward to form a crest. Marlins, an apex predator, are among the fastest marine swimmers. However, greatly exaggerated speeds are often claimed in popular literature, based on unreliable or outdated reports. The larger species include the Atlantic blue marlin, ''Makaira nigricans'', which can reach in length and in weight and the black marlin, ''Istio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dorsal Fin
A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found in most fish, in mammals such as whales, and in extinct ancient marine reptiles such as ichthyosaurs. Most have only one dorsal fin, but some have two or three. Wildlife biologists often use the distinctive nicks and wear patterns which develop on the dorsal fins of whales to identify individuals in the field. The bones or cartilages that support the dorsal fin in fish are called pterygiophores. Functions The main purpose of the dorsal fin is usually to stabilize the animal against rolling and to assist in sudden turns. Some species have further adapted their dorsal fins to other uses. The sunfish uses the dorsal fin (and the anal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to ge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rostrum (anatomy)
Rostrum (from Latin ', meaning '':wikt:beak, beak'') is a term used in anatomy for several kinds of hard, beak-like structures projecting out from the head or mouth of an animal. Despite some visual similarity, many of these are Phylogenetics, phylogenetically unrelated structures in widely varying species. Invertebrates * In spiders, the rostrum is a part of the mouth of which it borders the opening in front. Homologous of an upper lip, this outgrowth is especially characterised by the presence of a pocket-shaped secreting organ, the rostral gland, only accessible by the sole means of histology and electron microscopy (external link "archentoflor"). * In crustaceans, the rostrum is the forward extension of the carapace in front of the eyes. It is generally a rigid structure, but can be connected by a hinged joint, as seen in Leptostraca. * Among insects, the rostrum is the name for the piercing insect mouthparts, mouthparts of the order Hemiptera as well as those of the snow s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Istiophorus Albicans
The Atlantic sailfish (''Istiophorus albicans'') is a species of marine fish in the family Istiophoridae of the order Istiophoriformes. It is found in the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, except for large areas of the central North Atlantic and the central South Atlantic, from the surface to depths of . The Atlantic sailfish is related to the marlin. Tests in the 1920s estimated that the Atlantic sailfish was capable of short sprints of up to ; however, more conservative estimates of are more widely accepted. More recent studies even suggest sailfish do not exceed swimming speeds of . Atlantic sailfish hunt schooling fish, such as sardines, anchovies and mackerel although they also feed on crustaceans and cephalopods. Description The Atlantic sailfish is a metallic blue fish with a large sail-like dorsal fin and a long and pointed bill-like snout. It is dark bluish-black on the upperparts and lighter on the sides (counter-shading), with about twenty bluish horizontal ba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Istiophorus Platypterus
The Indo-Pacific sailfish (''Istiophorus platypterus'') 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''. It is theorized by marine biologists that the 'sail' (dorsal fin array) of the sailfish may serve the purpose of a cooling and h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indo-Pacific Sailfish
The Indo-Pacific sailfish (''Istiophorus platypterus'') 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''. It is theorized by marine biologists that the 'sail' (dorsal fin array) of the sailfish may serve the purpose of a cooling and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atlantic Sailfish
The Atlantic sailfish (''Istiophorus albicans'') is a species of marine fish in the family Istiophoridae of the order Istiophoriformes. It is found in the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, except for large areas of the central North Atlantic and the central South Atlantic, from the surface to depths of . The Atlantic sailfish is related to the marlin. Tests in the 1920s estimated that the Atlantic sailfish was capable of short sprints of up to ; however, more conservative estimates of are more widely accepted. More recent studies even suggest sailfish do not exceed swimming speeds of . Atlantic sailfish hunt schooling fish, such as sardines, anchovies and mackerel although they also feed on crustaceans and cephalopods. Description The Atlantic sailfish is a metallic blue fish with a large sail-like dorsal fin and a long and pointed bill-like snout. It is dark bluish-black on the upperparts and lighter on the sides (counter-shading), with about twenty bluish horizontal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paleogene
The Paleogene Period ( ; also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene) is a geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the Neogene Period Ma. It is the first period of the Cenozoic Era, the tenth period of the Phanerozoic and is divided into the Paleocene, Eocene, and Oligocene epochs. The earlier term Tertiary Period was used to define the time now covered by the Paleogene Period and subsequent Neogene Period; despite no longer being recognized as a formal stratigraphic term, "Tertiary" still sometimes remains in informal use. Paleogene is often abbreviated "Pg", although the United States Geological Survey uses the abbreviation "" for the Paleogene on the Survey's geologic maps. Much of the world's modern vertebrate diversity originated in a rapid surge of diversification in the early Paleogene, as survivors of the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event took advantage of empty ecolo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pelagic
The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean and can be further divided into regions by depth. The word ''pelagic'' is derived . The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or water column between the surface of the sea and the bottom. Conditions in the water column change with depth: pressure increases; temperature and light decrease; salinity, oxygen, micronutrients (such as iron, magnesium and calcium) all change. In a manner analogous to stratification in the Earth's atmosphere, the water column can be divided vertically into up to five different layers (illustrated in the diagram), with the number of layers depending on the depth of the water. Marine life is affected by bathymetry (underwater topography) such as the seafloor, shoreline, or a submarine seamount, as well as by proximity to the boundary between the ocean and the atmosphere at the ocean surface, which brings light for photosynthesis, predation from above, and wind st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meristics
Meristics is an area of zoology and botany which relates to counting quantitative features of animals and plants, such as the number of fins or scales in fish. A meristic (countable trait) can be used to describe a particular species, or used to identify an unknown species. Meristic traits are often described in a shorthand notation called a ''meristic formula''. Meristic characters are the countable structures occurring in series (e.g. myomeres, vertebrae, fin rays). These characters are among the characters most commonly used for differentiation of species and populations. In the salmonids, scale counts have been most widely used for the differentiation of populations within species. In rainbow and steelhead trout the most notable differences among populations occur in counts of scales. Meristic comparison is used in phenetic and cladistic analysis. Meristic analysis A meristic study is often a difficult task. For example, counting the features of a fish is not as easy as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
