| Indo-Pacific sailfish | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Istiophoriformes |
| Family: | Istiophoridae |
| Genus: | Istiophorus |
| Species: | I. platypterus
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| Binomial name | |
| Istiophorus platypterus (Shaw, 1792)
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| Synonyms[2] | |
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The Indo-Pacific sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus) is a sailfish native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans and is naturalized in the Atlantic where it has entered the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal as a Lessepsian migrant.[3] It is dark blue on top, brown-blue laterally, silvery white underbelly; upper jaw elongated in the form of a spear; first dorsal fin greatly enlarged in the form of a sail, with many black cones, its front squared off, highest at its midpoint; pelvic fins very narrow, reaching almost to the anus; body covered with embedded scales, blunt at end; lateral line curved above pectoral fin, then straight to base of tail. They have a large and sharp bill, which they use for hunting. They feed on tuna and mackerel, some of the fastest fish in the Ocean. Most authorities only recognise a single species of sailfish, I. platypterus.[2]
It is theorized by marine biologists that the 'sail' (dorsal fin array) of the sailfish may serve the purpose of a cooling and heating system for this fish; this due to a network of a large number of blood vessels found in the sail and because of "sail-raising" behaviour exhibited by the sailfish at or near the surface waters after or before high-speed bursts.
The IUCN recognizes this species as the cosmopolitan sailfish, where FishBase recognizes two species.
- ^ "Istiophorus platypterus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 18 April 2006.
- ^ a b Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2018). "Istiophorus platypterus" in FishBase. February 2018 version.
- ^ Collette, B.B.; Di Natale, A.; Fox, W.; Graves, J.; Juan Jorda, M.; Pohlot, B.; Restrepo, V.; Schratwieser, J. (2022). "Istiophorus platypterus". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2022: e.T170338A46649664. Retrieved 2 August 2022.