Indo-Pacific sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus) fish species and information / pictures of Indo-Pacific sailfish - Istiophorus platypterus

Indo-Pacific sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus) fish species information

Scientific Name
Istiophorus platypterus

Common Name
Indo-Pacific sailfish

Biology
Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 47-53; Anal spines: 2; Anal soft rays: 12 - 15. Body elongate and compressed; upper jaw prolonged into a very long beak; two dorsal fins, the first very large and tail; pelvic fins narrow but very long, almost reaching anus, with 1 spine and 2 rays; body covered with small, embedded scales with 1 or 2 blunt points; back dark with about 20 bluish vertical bars; belly pale silver; membrane of first dorsal fin blue black with numerous dark spots (Ref. 55763). A slender billfish with a high, sail-like first dorsal fin (Ref. 26938).

Classification

Classified By
Shaw, 1792
Class
Ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii)
Order
Perch-like fish (Perciformes)
Family
Billfishes (Istiophoridae)

Distribution

Region
Indo-Pacific
Distribution
Indo-Pacific: tropical and temperate waters approximately 45?- 50?N and 40?-35?S in the western Pacific, 35?N and 35?S in the eastern Pacific; 45?S in western Indian Ocean and 35?S in eastern Indian Ocean. Entered Mediterranean Sea from Red sea via Suez Canal. Highly migratory species, Annex I of the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea (Ref. 26139). Some authors recognize a single worldwide species, Istiophorus platypterus (Shaw & Nodder 1792) but we follow Nakamura 1990 (Ref. 10820) retaining the usage of Istiophorus platypterus for the Indo-Pacific sailfish and Istiophorus albicans for the Atlantic sailfish in recognition of the differences between them.
Range
50°N - 43°S, 16°E - 71°W

Environment

Climate
Subtropical
Water Temperature From
Unknown °C
Water Temperature To
Unknown °C
Depth From - meters
0 m
Depth To - meters
200 m
Zone
pelagic-oceanic
Environment
Marine; pelagic-oceanic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - 200 m (Ref. 54238), usually 30 - ? m (Ref. 9688)
Trophic Level
4.5 s.e. 0.80 Based on diet studies.
Occurs in Marine / Salt water
True
Occurs in Brackish water
False
Occurs in Fresh Water
False
Occurs on Reefs
False
Is kept in Aquariums
False

Physical Size and Genetics

Maximum Length
348 cm
Common Length
270 cm
Phylogenetic Diversity Index
PD50 = 0.7505 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Human Uses and Population

Human Uses
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes
Vulnerability
High to very high vulnerability (74 of 100)
Resilience
Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (rm=0.11; K=0.4-0.8)
Threat To Humans
  Harmless
IUCN Red List Status
  Not Evaluated