Marlin

Marlins are fascinating fish that belong to the family Istiophoridae. There are between 9 and 11 different species of marlins. These fish have long, powerful bodies and big bills that look like spears. They live in warm oceans and can swim very fast and far. Marlins are important to ocean ecosystems and are popular with people who enjoy fishing.

Name

The family’s common name is thought to come from how they look like a sailor’s marlinspike.

Taxonomy

The name Istiophoridae comes from the group Istiophorus, first used by George Kearsley Shaw in 1792. It is based on a Greek word meaning "sail," which describes the shape of the fish's dorsal fins.

The family includes between 9 and 11 species of fish known as marlins.

Family description

Marlins are fish with long, slender bodies and a spear-like snout or bill. They also have a long, stiff dorsal fin that extends forward to form a crest.

These fish are among the fastest swimmers in the sea. Big marlins, like the Atlantic blue marlin and the black marlin, can grow longer than 5 meters and weigh over 800 kilograms. They are popular sporting fish in warm areas, but some kinds are in danger because people catch too many of them. Marlins can change color.

spear snout dorsal fin crest white marlin overfishing

Classification

The marlins are Istiophoriform fish. They are most closely related to the swordfish, which is the only member of the family Xiphiidae. The carangiformes are thought to be the next closest group to marlins. Studies show that marlins are only slightly related to Scombridae.

Extant genera

Fossil genera

Marlins have fossils that go back to around 22 million years ago. They probably evolved in the Paratethys Sea. Some known fossil genera include:

• †Morgula Gracia et al., 2022
• †Pizzikoskerma Gracia, Villalobos-Segura, Ballen, Carnevale & Kriwet, 2024
• †Prototetrapturus Gracia et al., 2022
• †Sicophasma Gracia, Villalobos-Segura, Ballen, Carnevale & Kriwet, 2024
• †Spathochoira Gracia et al., 2022
• †Thalattorhynchus Schultz, 1987 (nomen dubium)

Popular culture

In the book The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, an old fisherman named Santiago catches a marlin. This gives him a big challenge.

Another story, "The Emperor" by Frederick Forsyth, has a bank manager who catches a marlin and becomes famous on the island of Mauritius.

A marlin also appears in the book The Man Who Loved Children by Christina Stead.

The professional baseball team from Miami, Florida, called the Miami Marlins, gets its name from this fish.

In the movie Finding Nemo, Nemo's father is named Marlin.