Makaira
| Atlantic blue marlin | |
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| Male marlin | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Istiophoridae |
| Genus: |
Makaira Lacépède, 1802 |
| Species: | M. nigricans |
| Binomial name | |
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Makaira nigricans Lacépède, 1802 |
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| The range of the Atlantic blue marlin | |
| Synonyms | |
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Genus:
Species: (See Below) |
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Genus:
Species: (See Below)
The Atlantic blue marlin (Makaira nigricans) is a species of marlin endemic to the Atlantic Ocean. The Atlantic blue marlin (hereafter, blue marlin) feeds on a wide variety of organisms near the surface. It uses its bill to stun, injure, or kill while knifing through a school of fish or other prey, then returns to eat the injured or stunned fish. Marlin is a popular game fish. The relatively high fat content of its meat makes it commercially valuable in certain markets. It is the national fish of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas and is thus featured on its coat of arms.
Blue marlin are distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. A bluewater fish that spends the majority of its life in the open sea far from land, the blue marlin preys on a wide variety of marine organisms, mostly near the surface, often using its bill to stun or injure its prey.
Females can grow up to four times the weight of males. The maximum published weight is 818 kg (1,803 lb) and length 5 m (16.4 ft).
Adult blue marlin have few predators apart from killer whales, sharks, and humans. They are sought after as a highly prized game fish by anglers and are taken by commercial fishermen, both as a directed catch and as bycatch in major industrial tuna fisheries. Blue marlin are currently considered a threatened species by the IUCN due to overfishing.
Some other historic English names for the blue marlin are Cuban black marlin, ocean gar, and ocean guard.
The blue marlin is placed in the genus Makaira. This name is derived from the Greek word machaira, meaning "a short sword or bent dagger", and the Latin machaera, "sword". The specific epithet nigricans is Latin for "becoming black". The blue marlin is part of the billfish family Istiophoridae and is in the perch-like order Perciformes. In addition, it is in the suborder Xiphioidei and is a member of the subclass Neopterygii, which means "new wings". It is also in the class of Actinopterygii, which includes ray-finned fishes and spiny-rayed fishes, and the superclass Osteichthyes, which includes all of the bony fishes.
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Wikipedia