Recent from talks
Billfish
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Billfish
The billfish are a group (Xiphioidea) of saltwater predatory fish characterised by prominent pointed bills (rostra), and by their large size; some are longer than 4 m (13 ft). 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.
Billfish are pelagic and highly migratory, and are found in all oceans. Although they usually inhabit tropical and subtropical waters, swordfish are also found in temperate waters. Billfish use their long spear/sword-like upper beaks to slash at and stun prey during feeding. Their bills have been known to impale prey, and have sometimes even accidentally impaled boats and people, but they are not intentionally used for this purpose. They are highly valued as game fish by sports fishermen.
These two families were previously classified as belonging to the order Istiophoriformes. Other classifications treated them 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 including the Sphyraenidae, the barracudas. Most recently, comprehensive phylogenetic analyses have found the billfish to be deeply nested within an expanded treatment of Carangiformes as the sister group to the moonfishes (family Menidae). For this reason, Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes now places both families of billfish within the suborder Menoidei of the Carangiformes.
Several extinct families of smaller billfish are known from the early Paleogene, including the Blochiidae, Xiphiorhynchidae, Palaeorhynchidae, and Hemingwayidae; all of these already have the elongated rostrum present in modern billfish. The earliest fossil billfishes are a Blochius-like fish from Peru and Hemingwaya from Turkmenistan, both of which are known from the Late Paleocene or earliest Eocene. Some studies suggest that Palaeorhynchidae and Hemingwayidae are stem-group billfish, while Blochiidae and Xiphiorhynchidae are crown group-billfish related to the Xiphiidae and Istiophoridae respectively.
Some studies have found the divergence between the Xiphiidae and Istiophoridae to date to the Late Cretaceous, while more recent studies have dated it to the early Paleocene. This ancient divergence is based on the early remains of apparent crown-group billfish such as the blochiids and xiphiorhynchids.
The enigmatic Cylindracanthus, known from the Late Cretaceous to the Eocene, is sometimes considered a "billfish" related to blochiids on the basis of its presumed rostral spines, but no other fossils are known of it aside from its rostral spines, leading to the suggestion that it had a cartilaginous body and may even be a relative of sturgeons. Similarly, the pachycormid fish Protosphyraena and the plethodid fish Rhamphoichthys from the Late Cretaceous had both convergently evolved a highly billfish-like body plan, but are known to be very distantly related to actual billfish; these genera may have instead served as a Cretaceous ecological analogue to billfish.
The term billfish refers to the fishes of the families Xiphiidae and Istiophoridae. These large fishes are "characterized by the prolongation of the upper jaw, much beyond the lower jaw into a long rostrum which is flat and sword-like (swordfish) or rounded and spear-like (sailfishes, spearfishes, and marlins)."
The 12 species of true billfish are divided into two families and five genera. One family, Xiphiidae, contains only one species, the swordfish Xiphias gladius, and the other family, Istiophoridae, contains 11 species in four genera, including marlin, spearfish, and sailfish. Controversy exists about whether the Indo-Pacific blue marlin, Makaira mazara, is the same species as the Atlantic blue marlin, M. nigricans. FishBase follows Nakamura (1985) in recognizing M. mazara as a distinct species, "chiefly because of differences in the pattern of the lateral line system".
Hub AI
Billfish AI simulator
(@Billfish_simulator)
Billfish
The billfish are a group (Xiphioidea) of saltwater predatory fish characterised by prominent pointed bills (rostra), and by their large size; some are longer than 4 m (13 ft). 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.
Billfish are pelagic and highly migratory, and are found in all oceans. Although they usually inhabit tropical and subtropical waters, swordfish are also found in temperate waters. Billfish use their long spear/sword-like upper beaks to slash at and stun prey during feeding. Their bills have been known to impale prey, and have sometimes even accidentally impaled boats and people, but they are not intentionally used for this purpose. They are highly valued as game fish by sports fishermen.
These two families were previously classified as belonging to the order Istiophoriformes. Other classifications treated them 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 including the Sphyraenidae, the barracudas. Most recently, comprehensive phylogenetic analyses have found the billfish to be deeply nested within an expanded treatment of Carangiformes as the sister group to the moonfishes (family Menidae). For this reason, Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes now places both families of billfish within the suborder Menoidei of the Carangiformes.
Several extinct families of smaller billfish are known from the early Paleogene, including the Blochiidae, Xiphiorhynchidae, Palaeorhynchidae, and Hemingwayidae; all of these already have the elongated rostrum present in modern billfish. The earliest fossil billfishes are a Blochius-like fish from Peru and Hemingwaya from Turkmenistan, both of which are known from the Late Paleocene or earliest Eocene. Some studies suggest that Palaeorhynchidae and Hemingwayidae are stem-group billfish, while Blochiidae and Xiphiorhynchidae are crown group-billfish related to the Xiphiidae and Istiophoridae respectively.
Some studies have found the divergence between the Xiphiidae and Istiophoridae to date to the Late Cretaceous, while more recent studies have dated it to the early Paleocene. This ancient divergence is based on the early remains of apparent crown-group billfish such as the blochiids and xiphiorhynchids.
The enigmatic Cylindracanthus, known from the Late Cretaceous to the Eocene, is sometimes considered a "billfish" related to blochiids on the basis of its presumed rostral spines, but no other fossils are known of it aside from its rostral spines, leading to the suggestion that it had a cartilaginous body and may even be a relative of sturgeons. Similarly, the pachycormid fish Protosphyraena and the plethodid fish Rhamphoichthys from the Late Cretaceous had both convergently evolved a highly billfish-like body plan, but are known to be very distantly related to actual billfish; these genera may have instead served as a Cretaceous ecological analogue to billfish.
The term billfish refers to the fishes of the families Xiphiidae and Istiophoridae. These large fishes are "characterized by the prolongation of the upper jaw, much beyond the lower jaw into a long rostrum which is flat and sword-like (swordfish) or rounded and spear-like (sailfishes, spearfishes, and marlins)."
The 12 species of true billfish are divided into two families and five genera. One family, Xiphiidae, contains only one species, the swordfish Xiphias gladius, and the other family, Istiophoridae, contains 11 species in four genera, including marlin, spearfish, and sailfish. Controversy exists about whether the Indo-Pacific blue marlin, Makaira mazara, is the same species as the Atlantic blue marlin, M. nigricans. FishBase follows Nakamura (1985) in recognizing M. mazara as a distinct species, "chiefly because of differences in the pattern of the lateral line system".
Recent media