Skip to main content

Swordfish

Xiphias gladius
The three most interesting things that I learned while reading about Swordfish are that 1) they are the only living members of their entire family. 2) Their genus name actually is the Latin word for sword. Convenient! And finally, 3) they have the widest temperature tolerance of any fish. They can be found in waters that range from 41-80 degrees F (5-27C)

Swordfish look a heck of a lot like Marlins and Sailfish, but they actually belong to two totally different families, though they are at least distantly related. They are a pelagic species that can be found in temperate and tropical ocean waters all around the world. They tend to migrate, moving into warmer waters in the winter and colder waters during the summer, but they also have that previously mentioned temperature tolerance, so they are able to survive at a variety of latitudes.

The sword of a Swordfish can actually make up 1/3 of their entire body length. They use the bill to thrash about while hunting, as it can stun and kill prey. The are opportunistic feeders, eating various types of squid, fish, and anything else they can grab.

Swordfish can grow really big! Though 10ft is usually considered large, individuals measuring over 14ft long have been observed. For such huge fish they lay tiny, tiny eggs. Each female can carry literally millions of eggs, all of which measure less than 2mm in diameter.

The species has been popular with recreational fisherman because of their aggressive nature and hard-to-catch attitude. They are also harvested commercially, though the meat tends to be higher in Mercury than many other Fish types. Currently Swordfish are listed as being of Least Concern, but because of longline commercial fishing they are listed on the Greenpeace Red List. Longline fishing results in bycatches and harms other fish species.
IUCN Status : Least Concern
Location : Tropical and Temperate oceans worldwide
Size : Length around 10ft (3m)
Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Actinopterygii -- Order : Perciformes
Family : Xiphiidae -- Genus : Xiphias -- Species : X. gladius

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bornean Orangutan

The Bornean Orangutan is one of two extant Orangutan species in the world. It is the third largest primate (after Gorillas) and is the largest primarily tree-dwelling animal in the world. Males are substantially larger than females, and average at around 165lbs. Bornean Orangutans are largely solitary. A handful might live within a small range but they will seldom interact with one another. Males and females only meet up to breed, which happens only once every several years. A young Orangutan will stay with it's mother for about five years, and the females tend to go about eight years between births. That is the longest interim period of any animal! Sadly, the Bornean Orangutans are in a lot of trouble. They need large forests in order to thrive, and deforestation and habitat degradation has left many homeless. They are also hunted for meat and for traditional medicines. Conservation areas are being established to help these guys in the wild, and it is believed that there are a...
59 comments
Read more

Four!

For anyone who was counting, yesterday was our birthday-- four years! Four years filled with animals from A to Z, more than 1,100 of them! I can't thank my readers enough, it's been wonderful! And in celebration of that milestone... I'm taking a break. Hopefully not forever, but for a little bit at least. In the mean time I plan on getting a new layout out, along with some updates to some of the older articles. I'll post updates here and on the Facebook page, I'm also brainstorming some new animal-related projects, so keep an eye out! Thanks again for four awesome years!
18 comments
Read more

Banggai Cardinalfish

Pterapogon kauderni The Banggai Cardinalfish is a small tropical fish that is becoming very rare in the wild, even though it has been successfully bred in captivity. You will only find these small, 3in long fish around the Banggai Islands of Indonesia. They are the only members of their genus, and you can tell them apart from other Cardinalfish by their three-striped bodies, tasseled first dorsal fin, long second dorsal, and their deep-forked tail fins. Banggai Cardinalfish are diurnal and live in small groups of about a dozen members. They are opportunistic feeders who dine on whatever smaller plants and animals they can find. Courtship and mating is pretty interesting for these guys-- females are the ones who initiate. They isolate a male and the pair will perform various courtship rituals before spawning. The Cardinalfish are mouthbrooders, which means that the males take the fertilized eggs (up to 90 of them) into their mouths and incubate them for up to 30 days. During t...
37 comments
Read more