Swordfish

Swordfish
Temporal range: Eocene to Present
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Carangiformes
Suborder: Menoidei
Superfamily: Xiphioidea
Family: Xiphiidae
Rafinesque, 1815
Genus: Xiphias
Linnaeus, 1758
Species:
X. gladius
Binomial name
Xiphias gladius
Global distribution of swordfish in blue
Synonyms
  • Xiphias imperator Bloch & Schneider, 1801
  • Tetrapterus imperator (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)
  • Xiphias rondeletii Leach, 1814
  • Phaethonichthys tuberculatus Nichols, 1923
  • Xiphias estara Phillipps, 1932
  • Xiphias thermaicus Serbetis, 1951

The swordfish (Xiphias gladius), also known as the broadbill in some countries, are large, highly migratory predatory fish characterized by a long, flat, pointed bill. They are the sole member of the family Xiphiidae. They are a popular sport fish of the billfish category. Swordfish are elongated, round-bodied, and lose all teeth and scales by adulthood. These fish are found widely in tropical and temperate parts of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, and can typically be found from near the surface to a depth of 550 m (1,800 ft), and exceptionally up to depths of 2,234 m. They commonly reach 3 m (10 ft) in length, and the maximum reported is 4.55 m (14 ft 11 in) in length and 650 kg (1,430 lb) in weight.