19th century colorful painting of a Indo-Pacific sailfish, Istiophorus platypterus
The Indo-Pacific sailfish, Istiophorus platypterus, is a sailfish native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is dark blue on top, brown-blue laterally, silvery white underbelly; upper jaw elongated in form of spear; first dorsal fin greatly enlarged in the form of a sail, with many black spots, 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, that they use for hunting. They feed on tuna and mackerel, some of the fastest fish in the Ocean. They are able to prey on the faster fish in the sea because their top speed has been clocked at 68 mph, making them the fastest fish in the ocean. The Indo-pacific sailfish is related to the Marlin. Marlin, Istiophoridae, is a member of a group of marine fish known as "billfish", and is closely linked to the freshwater trout. A marlin has an elongated body, a spear-like snout, and a long rigid dorsal fin, which extends forwards to form a crest. Its common name is thought to derive from its notional resemblance to a sailor's marlinspike.[1] Even more so than their close relatives the scombrids, marlin are known to be incredibly fast swimmers, reaching speeds of about 110 kilometres per hour (68 mph).[
Size: 5291px × 3329px
Photo credit: © markku murto/art / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: 19th, animal, antique, art, baked, billfish, century, commercial, cooked, drawing, fish, fisher, fishing, food, fried, game, illustration, indo-pacific, istiophorus, marlin, painting, platypterus, sailfish, salted, sashimi, seafood, smoked, sport, sushi, vintage
