Untitled - Alaska Resources Library

Family Xiphiidae — Swordfishes
Xiphias gladius Linnaeus, 1758. Swordfish. To 457 cm (15 ft) TL (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983). Circumglobal;
in western Pacific as far north as southern Kuril Islands (Savinykh 1998); south of Vancouver Island
(47°06'N, 131°03'W), British Columbia (Peden and Jamieson 1988) to Valdivia, Chile (Chirichigno and
Vélez 1998), including southernmost part of Gulf of California (Robertson and Allen 2002) and Islas
Galápagos (Grove and Lavenberg 1997). Surface to 2,878 m (9,442 ft; Pakhorukov 2001).
Family Istiophoridae — Billfishes
Istiophorus platypterus (Shaw, 1792). Sailfish. To 360 cm (11.7 ft) TL (Randall et al. 1990). Circumglobal;
in western Pacific as far north as southern Kuril Islands (Parin 2003); Dana Point, southern California
(Oliphant 1991) to Chile (Miller and Lea 1972), including Gulf of California (Robertson and Allen
2002) and Islas Galápagos (Grove and Lavenberg 1997). Oceanic, near surface (Eschmeyer and Herald
1983) to 30 m (98 ft) or more (Robertson and Allen 2002).
Makaira indica (Cuvier, 1832). Black Marlin. To 5 m (16.3 ft) TL (Randall et al. 1990). Circumglobal; in
western Pacific as far north as southern Kuril Islands (Savinykh 1998); southern California (Miller and
Lea 1972) to northern Chile (Grove and Lavenberg 1997), including Gulf of California (Robertson and
Allen 2002) and Islas Galápagos (Grove and Lavenberg 1997). Oceanic, near surface (Eschmeyer and
Herald 1983) to 100 m (328 ft) or more (Robertson and Allen 2002).
Makaira nigricans Lacepède, 1802. Blue Marlin. To 5 m (16.4 ft) TL (Heemstra in Smith and Heemstra
1986). Circumglobal; Sea of Japan and off southern Kuril Islands (Parin 2003); southern California
(Miller and Lea 1972) to Mejillones, Chile (Chirichigno and Vélez 1998), including Islas Galápagos
(Grove and Lavenberg 1997). Oceanic, near surface to 200 m (656 ft; Robertson and Allen 2002). Also
recently as M. mazara.
Tetrapturus angustirostris Tanaka, 1915. Shortbill Spearfish. To at least 2.4 m (8 ft) TL (Eschmeyer and
Herald 1983). Circumglobal; Cape Mendocino, central California (Miller and Lea 1972) to Mejillones,
Chile (Chirichigno and Vélez 1998), including Islas Galápagos (Grove and Lavenberg 1997). Apparently
not in Gulf of California (Robertson and Allen 2002). Oceanic, near surface to 1,830 m (6,004 ft) (min.:
Eschmeyer and Herald 1983; max.: Robertson and Allen 2002).
Tetrapturus audax (Philippi, 1887). Striped Marlin. To 4.2 m (13.8 ft) TL (Randall et al. 1990). Pacific and
Indian oceans; in western Pacific as far north as southern Kuril Islands (Savinykh 1998); near Westport,
Washington (W. A. Palsson, pers. comm. to M. L.) to Chile (35°S; Chirichigno and Vélez 1998), including
central and southern Gulf of California (Robertson and Allen 2002) and Islas Galápagos (Grove and
Lavenberg 1997). Oceanic, near surface to 289 m (948 ft) (min.: Eschmeyer and Herald 1983; max.:
Bedford and Hagerman 1983).
Family Centrolophidae — Medusafishes
Icichthys lockingtoni Jordan & Gilbert, 1880. Medusafish. To about 46 cm (18.4 in) TL (Mecklenburg et al.
2002). Japan and Kuril Islands (Haedrich 1967) to Pacific side of Aleutian Islands (Mecklenburg et al.
2002) to about Punta Eugenia, central Baja California (Ahlstrom et al. 1976). Larvae have been taken
somewhat to the south of Punta Eugenia, at Punta Abreojos, southern Baja California (Moser et al.
1993). Oceanic pelagic, juveniles near surface, adults to 1,010 m (3,314 ft) (min.: Jordan 1923; max.:
Amaoka et al. 1990) and perhaps to 1,257 m (4,124 ft; Lauth 2001); also reported as intertidal (Bolin
1975). Haedrich (1967) opined that this species probably reaches bathypelagic depths.
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