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Marlin
	Striped marlin, Tetrapturus audax
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia;
Phylum:	Chordata;
Class:	Actinopterygii;
Order:	Perciformes;
Family:	Istiophoridae;
Genera
	Istiophorus; Makaira; Tetrapturus

For other uses, see Marlin (disambiguation).

Marlin, Istiophoridae, is a "billfish" and is closely linked to freshwater trout. 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 derive from its resemblance to a sailor's marlinspike.^[1] Even more so than their close relatives the scombrids, marlin are incredibly fast swimmers, reaching speeds of about 110 kilometres per hour (68 mph).^[2]^[3]

Morning catch of marlin at Jimbaran, Indonesia

The larger species include the Atlantic blue marlin, Makaira nigricans, which can reach 5.968 metres (19.58 ft) in length and 818 kilograms (1,800 lb) in weight, and the Black marlin, Makaira indica, which can reach in excess of 5 metres (16 ft) in length and 670 kilograms (1,500 lb) in weight. They are popular sporting fish in tropical areas.

Marlin are rarely table fare, appearing mostly in fine restaurants. Most modern sport fishermen release marlin after unhooking. However, the old fisherman in Ernest Hemingway's novella The Old Man and the Sea was storied to have caught an 18-foot (5.5 m) marlin to sell its meat.

Very large marlin, which may set a record, are taken and weighed on shore. Records are most often recorded in the IGFA World Record Game Fish books.

[edit] Classification

The marlins are perciform fish, most closely related to the swordfish and Scombridae.

Family Istiophoridae

Genus Istiophorus
- Istiophorus albicans — Atlantic Sailfish
- Istiophorus platypterus — Indo-Pacific Sailfish
Genus Makaira
- Makaira indica — Black Marlin
- Makaira mazara — Indo-Pacific Blue Marlin
- Makaira nigricans — Atlantic Blue Marlin
Genus Tetrapturus
- Tetrapturus albidus — Atlantic White Marlin
- Tetrapturus angustirostris — Shortbill Spearfish
- Tetrapturus audax — Striped Marlin
- Tetrapturus belone — Mediterranean Spearfish
- Tetrapturus georgii — Roundscale Spearfish
- Tetrapturus pfluegeri — Longbill Spearfish

[edit] See also

Marlin fishing

[edit] References

^ Douglas Harper (November 2001). "marlin". Online Etymological Dictionary. http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=marlin.
^ Johnson, G.D. & Gill, A.C. (1998). Paxton, J.R. & Eschmeyer, W.N.. ed. Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. pp. 190–191. ISBN 0-12-547665-5.
^ [1]

"Istiophoridae". FishBase. Ed. Rainer Froese and Daniel Pauly. November 2005 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2005.

[edit] External links

[0] Douglas Harper (November 2001). "marlin". Online Etymological Dictionary. http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=marlin.

[EoF-1] Johnson, G.D. & Gill, A.C. (1998). Paxton, J.R. & Eschmeyer, W.N.. ed. Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. pp. 190–191. ISBN 0-12-547665-5.

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Contents

[edit] Classification

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] External links