Marlin: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
table layout; inserted captions for marlin pictures
Tag: nowiki added
m double space removed
 
(15 intermediate revisions by 14 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{short description|Family of Fish}}
{{short description|Family of fish}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Automatic taxobox
{{Automatic taxobox
Line 18: Line 18:
}}
}}


'''Marlins''' are fish from the family '''Istiophoridae''', which includes about 10 species.
'''Marlins''' are fish from the family '''Istiophoridae''', which includes 11 species.


== Name ==
== Name ==
The family's [[common name]] is thought to derive from their resemblance to a sailor's [[marlinspike]].<ref>
The family's [[common name]] is thought to derive from their resemblance to a sailor's [[marlinspike]].<ref>{{cite dictionary | first = Douglas | last = Harper
|date = November 2001 |title = marlin |url = http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=marlin |dictionary= Online Etymological Dictionary }}</ref>
{{cite dictionary

| first = Douglas | last = Harper
=== Taxonomy ===
| date = November 2001
The family name Istiophoridae comes from the genus ''[[Istiophorus]]'' which first placed the species ''[[Istiophorus platypterus]]'' by [[George Kearsley Shaw]] in 1792 from the Greek word {{lang|el|ἱστίον}} ''istion'' meaning "[[sail]]" that describes the shape of the species's dorsal fins.<ref name="EtyFish">{{cite web |last=Scharpf |first= Christopher |date=13 September 2023 |url= http://www.etyfish.org/carangiformes1/ | title= Order CARANGIFORMES |work=The ETYFish Project |page=1–19 |access-date=18 December 2023}}</ref>{{rp|6}}
| title = marlin
| dictionary= Online Etymological Dictionary
| via = etymonline.com
| url = http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=marlin
}}
</ref>


== Family description ==
== Family description ==
Marlins have elongated bodies, a [[spear]]-like [[snout]]s or bills, and a long, rigid [[dorsal fin]] which extends forward to form a [[Crest (feathers)|crest]].
Marlins have elongated bodies, a [[spear]]-like [[snout]] or bill, and a long, rigid [[dorsal fin]] which extends forward to form a [[Crest (feathers)|crest]].


Marlins are among the fastest marine swimmers. However, greatly exaggerated speeds are often claimed in popular literature, based on unreliable or outdated reports.<ref name=Svends-Domen-etal-2016>{{Cite journal |last1=Svendsen |first1=Morten B.S. |last2=Domenici |first2=Paolo |last3=Marras |first3=Stefano |last4=Krause |first4=Jens |last5=Boswell |first5=Kevin M. |last6=Rodriguez-Pinto |first6=Ivan |last7=Wilson |first7=Alexander D.M. |last8=Kurvers|first8=Ralf H.J.M. |last9=Viblanc |first9=Paul E. |last10=Finger |first10=Jean S. |last11=Steffensen |first11=John F. |display-authors=6 |date=2016-10-15 |title=Maximum swimming speeds of sailfish and three other large marine predatory fish species based on muscle contraction time and stride length: a myth revisited |journal=Biology Open |volume=5 |issue=10 |pages=1415–1419 |doi=10.1242/bio.019919 |issn=2046-6390 |pmc=5087677 |pmid=27543056 |lang=en}}</ref>
Marlins are among the fastest marine swimmers. However, greatly exaggerated speeds are often claimed in popular literature, based on unreliable or outdated reports.<ref name=Svends-Domen-etal-2016>{{Cite journal |last1=Svendsen |first1=Morten B.S. |last2=Domenici |first2=Paolo |last3=Marras |first3=Stefano |last4=Krause |first4=Jens |last5=Boswell |first5=Kevin M. |last6=Rodriguez-Pinto |first6=Ivan |last7=Wilson |first7=Alexander D.M. |last8=Kurvers|first8=Ralf H.J.M. |last9=Viblanc |first9=Paul E. |last10=Finger |first10=Jean S. |last11=Steffensen |first11=John F. |display-authors=6 |date=2016-10-15 |title=Maximum swimming speeds of sailfish and three other large marine predatory fish species based on muscle contraction time and stride length: a myth revisited |journal=Biology Open |volume=5 |issue=10 |pages=1415–1419 |doi=10.1242/bio.019919 |issn=2046-6390 |pmc=5087677 |pmid=27543056 |lang=en}}</ref>


The larger species include the [[Atlantic blue marlin]], ''Makaira nigricans'', which can reach {{convert|5|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} in length and {{convert|820|kg|lb|abbr=on}} in weight<ref>{{cite web |title=''Makaira nigricans'', blue marlin |department=fisheries, gamefish |website=FishBase |url=http://www.fishbase.org/summary/Makaira-nigricans.html}}</ref> and the [[black marlin]], ''Istiompax indica'', which can reach in excess of {{convert|5|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} in length and {{convert|670|kg|lb|abbr=on}} in weight. They are popular [[sport fishing|sporting fish]] in tropical areas.<!-- encyclopedic? Many sporting fishers like to try their luck at catching a massive marlin. --> The [[Atlantic blue marlin]] and the [[white marlin]] are endangered owing to [[overfishing]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Tunas and marlins officially classified as threatened |website=Smithsonian Ocean |publisher=[[Smithsonian Institution]] |url=https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/fish/tunas-and-marlins-officially-classified-threatened |via=ocean.si.edu }}</ref>
The larger species include the [[Atlantic blue marlin]], ''Makaira nigricans'', which can reach {{convert|5|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} in length and {{convert|820|kg|lb|abbr=on}} in weight<ref>{{cite web |title=''Makaira nigricans'', blue marlin |department=fisheries, gamefish |website=FishBase |url=http://www.fishbase.org/summary/Makaira-nigricans.html}}</ref> and the [[black marlin]], ''Istiompax indica'', which can reach in excess of {{convert|5|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} in length and {{convert|670|kg|lb|abbr=on}} in weight. They are popular [[sport fishing|sporting fish]] in tropical areas.<!-- encyclopedic? Many sporting fishers like to try their luck at catching a massive marlin. --> The Atlantic blue marlin and the [[white marlin]] are endangered owing to [[overfishing]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Tunas and marlins officially classified as threatened |website=Smithsonian Ocean |publisher=[[Smithsonian Institution]] |url=https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/fish/tunas-and-marlins-officially-classified-threatened |via=ocean.si.edu }}</ref>

Marlins can change colour, lighting up their stripes just before attacking prey.<ref>{{cite news |title=Marlin use their surprising superpower to attack other fish |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/02/26/marlin-light-up-stripes-coordinate-attacks-fish-prey/ |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=26 February 2024 |access-date=9 March 2024 |last1=Pinkstone |first1=Joe }}</ref>


==Classification==
==Classification==
Line 44: Line 41:
{{clear}}
{{clear}}
:{| class="wikitable"
:{| class="wikitable"
|+ '''{{big| Istiophoriform gerera and species }}'''
|+ '''{{big| Istiophoriform genera and species }}'''
|-
|-
! Image !! Genus !! Living species !! Common name
! Image !! Genus !! Living species !! Common name
Line 71: Line 68:
|}
|}


===Timeline of genera===
===Fossil history===
Marlins have a continuous fossil record from the Miocene onwards, with the oldest uncontroversial fossil dated to 22 million years ago.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= De Gracia |first1= C. |last2= Berning |first2= B. |last3 = Kriwet |first3= J. |date= March 2023 |title= The origin of modern marlins (Teleostei: Istiophoridae): new fossil evidence from the Lower Miocene of Austria |journal= Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume= 43 |issue= 2 |pages= e2281490|doi= 10.1080/02724634.2023.2281490|doi-access= free }}</ref> It is thought that they probably evolved in the [[Paratethys]] Sea.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Fierstine |first1= H.L. |date= 2006 |title= Fossil history of billfishes (Xiphioidei) |journal= Bulletin of Marine Science |volume= 79 |issue= 3 |pages= 433–453 |url= https://www.ingentaconnect.com/contentone/umrsmas/bullmar/2006/00000079/00000003/art00002 |access-date= 30 April 2024}}</ref>

<timeline>
<timeline>
ImageSize = width:1000px height:auto barincrement:15px
ImageSize = width:1000px height:auto barincrement:15px
Line 170: Line 169:


A marlin features prominently in the last chapter and climactic scenes of [[Christina Stead]]'s ''[[The Man Who Loved Children]]''. Sam's friend Saul gives Sam a marlin, and Sam makes his children help him render the fish's fat.
A marlin features prominently in the last chapter and climactic scenes of [[Christina Stead]]'s ''[[The Man Who Loved Children]]''. Sam's friend Saul gives Sam a marlin, and Sam makes his children help him render the fish's fat.

The [[Miami Marlins]], a professional baseball team based in Miami, Florida, is named after the fish.


==See also==
==See also==
Line 177: Line 178:


==References==
==References==
{{reflist|25em}}
{{reflist}}


==Further reading==
==Further reading==
{{refbegin|colwidth=25em|small=yes}}
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite journal |last=Sepkoski |first=Jack |year=2002 |title=A compendium of fossil marine animal genera |journal=[[Bulletins of American Paleontology]] |volume=364 |page=560 |url=http://strata.ummp.lsa.umich.edu/jack/showgenera.php?taxon=611&rank=class |access-date=2011-05-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723131237/http://strata.ummp.lsa.umich.edu/jack/showgenera.php?taxon=611&rank=class |archive-date=2011-07-23 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Sepkoski |first=Jack |year=2002 |title=A compendium of fossil marine animal genera |journal=[[Bulletins of American Paleontology]] |volume=364 |page=560 |url=http://strata.ummp.lsa.umich.edu/jack/showgenera.php?taxon=611&rank=class |access-date=2011-05-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723131237/http://strata.ummp.lsa.umich.edu/jack/showgenera.php?taxon=611&rank=class |archive-date=2011-07-23 }}
* {{FishBase family|family=Istiophoridae|year=2005|month=November}}
* {{FishBase family|family=Istiophoridae|year=2005|month=November}}
Line 186: Line 187:


== External links ==
== External links ==
{{refbegin|colwidth=25em|small=yes}}
⚫
* {{cite web |title=Marlin fishing |type=blog |website=[[FishingBooker]] |url=https://fishingbooker.com/blog/marlin-fishing/}}
⚫
* {{cite AV media |title='Ghost fish' revelation may alter marlin's status |date=2 March 2007 |people=Melissa Block & John Nielson (radio hosts), Jason Schratwieser (marlin sport fishing expert), Mahmoud Sivji (fish research biologist involved in discovery) |medium=radio news recording & transcript |series=[[All Things Considered]] |publisher=[[National Public Radio]] |website=NPR.org |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7692201 |url-status=live |access-date=2023-10-29}} — news clip discussing discovery that a look-alike fish has been widely mis-identified as white marlin
{{refend}}

{{Commons category|Istiophoridae}}
{{Commons category|Istiophoridae}}
⚫
* {{cite web |title=Marlin fishing |type=blog |website=[[FishingBooker]] |date=3 December 2015 |url=https://fishingbooker.com/blog/marlin-fishing/}}

⚫
* {{cite AV media |title='Ghost fish' revelation may alter marlin's status |date=2 March 2007 |people=Melissa Block & John Nielson (radio hosts), Jason Schratwieser (marlin sport fishing expert), Mahmoud Sivji (fish research biologist involved in discovery) |medium=radio news recording & transcript |series=[[All Things Considered]] |publisher=[[National Public Radio]] |website=NPR.org |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7692201 |access-date=2023-10-29}} — news clip discussing discovery that a look-alike fish has been widely mis-identified as white marlin
{{billfish}}
{{billfish}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}
Line 199: Line 196:
[[Category:Hawaiian cuisine]]
[[Category:Hawaiian cuisine]]
[[Category:Istiophoridae| ]]
[[Category:Istiophoridae| ]]
[[Category:Sport fish]]
[[Category:Game fish]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque]]

Latest revision as of 12:43, 20 May 2024

For other uses, see Marlin (disambiguation).

Marlin
Atlantic blue marlin (Makaira nigricans)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Istiophoriformes
Family: Istiophoridae
Rafinesque, 1810
Type genus
Istiophorus
Genera

Marlins are fish from the family Istiophoridae, which includes 11 species.

Name[edit]

The family's common name is thought to derive from their resemblance to a sailor's marlinspike.[1]

Taxonomy[edit]

The family name Istiophoridae comes from the genus Istiophorus which first placed the species Istiophorus platypterus by George Kearsley Shaw in 1792 from the Greek word ἱστίον istion meaning "sail" that describes the shape of the species's dorsal fins.[2]: 6 

Family description[edit]

Marlins have elongated bodies, a spear-like snout or bill, and a long, rigid dorsal fin which extends forward to form a crest.

Marlins are among the fastest marine swimmers. However, greatly exaggerated speeds are often claimed in popular literature, based on unreliable or outdated reports.[3]

The larger species include the Atlantic blue marlin, Makaira nigricans, which can reach 5 m (16 ft) in length and 820 kg (1,810 lb) in weight[4] and the black marlin, Istiompax indica, which can reach in excess of 5 m (16 ft) in length and 670 kg (1,480 lb) in weight. They are popular sporting fish in tropical areas. The Atlantic blue marlin and the white marlin are endangered owing to overfishing.[5]

Marlins can change colour, lighting up their stripes just before attacking prey.[6]

Classification[edit]

The marlins are Istiophoriform fish, most closely related to the swordfish (which itself is the sole member of the family Xiphiidae). The carangiformes are believed to be the second-closest clade to marlins. Although previously thought to be closely related to Scombridae, genetic analysis only shows a slight relationship.

Istiophoriform genera and species
Image Genus Living species Common name

black marlin
 Istiompax
(Whitley, 1931)		 Istiompax indica black marlin

Atlantic sailfish
 Istiophorus
(Lacépède, 1801)		 I. albicans Atlantic sailfish
I. platypterus Indo-Pacific sailfish

Atlantic blue
 Makaira
(Lacépède, 1802)		 Makaira nigricans
(Lacepède, 1802)		 Atlantic blue marlin
Makaira mazara
(Jordan & Snyder, 1901)		 Indo-Pacific blue marlin

white marlin
 Kajikia
(Hirasaka & H. Nakamura, 1947)		 Kajikia albida
(Poey, 1860)		 white marlin
Kajikia audax
(Philippi (Krumweide), 1887) 		striped marlin

longbill
 Tetrapturus
(Rafinesque, 1810)		 Tetrapturus angustirostris
(S. Tanaka (I), 1915)		 shortbill spearfish
Tetrapturus belone
(Rafinesque, 1810)		 Mediterranean spearfish
Tetrapturus georgii
(R.T. Lowe, 1841)		 roundscale spearfish
Tetrapturus pfluegeri
(C. R. Robins & de Sylva, 1963)		 longbill spearfish

Fossil history[edit]

Marlins have a continuous fossil record from the Miocene onwards, with the oldest uncontroversial fossil dated to 22 million years ago.[7] It is thought that they probably evolved in the Paratethys Sea.[8]

QuaternaryNeogenePaleogeneHolocenePleistocenePlioceneMioceneOligoceneEocenePaleoceneMakairaIstiophorusTetrapterusPseudohistiophorusQuaternaryNeogenePaleogeneHolocenePleistocenePlioceneMioceneOligoceneEocenePaleocene

Popular culture[edit]

A taxidermied marlin greets visitors to Dare County, North Carolina.

In the Nobel Prize-winning author Ernest Hemingway's 1952 novel The Old Man and the Sea, the central character of the work is an aged Cuban fisherman who, after 84 days without success on the water, heads out to sea to break his run of bad luck. On the 85th day, Santiago, the old fisherman, hooks a resolute marlin; what follows is a great struggle between man, sea creature, and the elements.

Frederick Forsyth's story "The Emperor", in the collection No Comebacks, tells of a bank manager named Murgatroyd, who catches a marlin and is acknowledged by the islanders of Mauritius as a master fisherman.

A marlin features prominently in the last chapter and climactic scenes of Christina Stead's The Man Who Loved Children. Sam's friend Saul gives Sam a marlin, and Sam makes his children help him render the fish's fat.

The Miami Marlins, a professional baseball team based in Miami, Florida, is named after the fish.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Harper, Douglas (November 2001). "marlin". Online Etymological Dictionary.
  2. ^ Scharpf, Christopher (13 September 2023). "Order CARANGIFORMES". The ETYFish Project. p. 1–19. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  3. ^ Svendsen, Morten B.S.; Domenici, Paolo; Marras, Stefano; Krause, Jens; Boswell, Kevin M.; Rodriguez-Pinto, Ivan; et al. (2016-10-15). "Maximum swimming speeds of sailfish and three other large marine predatory fish species based on muscle contraction time and stride length: a myth revisited". Biology Open. 5 (10): 1415–1419. doi:10.1242/bio.019919. ISSN 2046-6390. PMC 5087677. PMID 27543056.
  4. ^ "Makaira nigricans, blue marlin". fisheries, gamefish. FishBase.
  5. ^ "Tunas and marlins officially classified as threatened". Smithsonian Ocean. Smithsonian Institution – via ocean.si.edu.
  6. ^ Pinkstone, Joe (26 February 2024). "Marlin use their surprising superpower to attack other fish". The Telegraph. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  7. ^ De Gracia, C.; Berning, B.; Kriwet, J. (March 2023). "The origin of modern marlins (Teleostei: Istiophoridae): new fossil evidence from the Lower Miocene of Austria". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 43 (2): e2281490. doi:10.1080/02724634.2023.2281490.
  8. ^ Fierstine, H.L. (2006). "Fossil history of billfishes (Xiphioidei)". Bulletin of Marine Science. 79 (3): 433–453. Retrieved 30 April 2024.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Istiophoridae.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Marlin&oldid=1224783432"