Istiophorus Lacepède, 1801
Diagnosis: body elongate, fairly compressed and tapering; nape rising fairly steeply, bill long, slender and round in cross-section. Pectoral fins greater than post-orbital part of head; pelvic fins very long, nearly twice length of pectoral fins and reaching well beyond midpoint of body, the finrays fused, with a well-developed membrane; first dorsal fin high and sail-like, its height much greater than body depth, with 42-46 finrays, second dorsal fin small, with 6-7 finrays; first anal fin with 11-14 finrays, second with 6-7 finrays; anus close to first anal fin origin; 2 horizontal keels on each side of caudal peduncle, caudal strongly forked. Body covered with rather sparse embedded scales, each with a blunt point. Colour: back blue-black, flanks and belly silvery; dorsal fins greyish, the first with dark spots, anal fins whitish, but lobe of first grey. Size: to about 3 m TL.
Habitat: epipelagic, fast-swimming, more coastal than other billfishes, usually above the thermocline; high dorsal fin may help in making sharp turns or in reducing speed. Food: a wide variety of pelagic fishes (sardines, anchovies, mackerels, carangids, etc.) also crustaceans, cephalopods; the bill may be used for attacking prey. Reproduction: throughout year in eastern Atlantic; females grow larger, but are otherwise similar to males.
Distribution: warmer parts of area, straying northward to the Channel, also southwestern parts of Mediterranean. Elsewhere, throughout warm waters of Atlantic.
Species 2; in Clofnam area 1.
Note: Many authors recognize a single worldwide species, Istiophorus platypterus Shaw and Nodder, 1791, but differences in length of pectoral and caudal fins at immature stages, as well as in the maximum size of the fishes, argues for an Indo-Pacific species (I. platypterus) and an Atlantic species (I. albicans).
Species of this genus in the program:
Istiophorus albicans