Atlantic sailfish
species of fish / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Atlantic sailfish (Istiophorus albicans) is a species of marine fish in the family Istiophoridae of the order Perciformes. It is found in the Atlantic Oceans and the Caribbean Sea, from the surface to depths of 200 m (656 ft). It does not occur in large areas of the central North Atlantic and the central South Atlantic. The Atlantic sailfish is related to the marlin.
Atlantic sailfish | |
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Two men holding a freshly caught Atlantic sailfish | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Istiophoriformes |
Family: | Istiophoridae |
Genus: | Istiophorus |
Species: | I. albicans |
Binomial name | |
Istiophorus albicans (Latreille, 1804) | |
Tests in the 1920s estimated that the Atlantic sailfish was capable of short sprints of up to 111 kilometres per hour; however, more conservative estimates of 37 to 55 kilometres per hour are more widely accepted. More recent studies even suggest sailfish do not exceed swimming speeds of 36 km/h (22 mph).[1]
Atlantic sailfish hunt schooling fish, such as sardines, anchovies and mackerel although they also feed on crustaceans and cephalopods.