Istiophorus platypterus (Shaw, 1792)

Indo-Pacific sailfish

Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Classification	Actinopterygii \| Perciformes \| Istiophoridae
Synonyms	Xiphias platypterus, Histiophorus immaculatus, Histiophorus indicus, ... more
Common names	Voilier indo-pacifique, Pez vela del Indo-Pacífico, Indo-pacifc sailfish, ... more

You can sponsor this page

Upload your photos and videos
| All pictures | Google image | Stamps |

Image of Istiophorus platypterus (Indo-Pacific sailfish)

Picture by Jean-Francois Helias / Fishing Adventures Thailand

Add your observation in Fish Watcher

| Native range | PointMap |

AquaMaps Data sources: GBIF OBIS

Main reference

Nakamura, I. 1985. (Ref. 43)
Other references | Biblio | Coordinator | Collaborators

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 348 cm FL male/unsexed; (Ref. 40637); common length : 270 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9308); max. published weight: 100.2 kg (Ref. 40637); max. reported age: 13 years (Ref. 53742)

Environment

Pelagic-oceanic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); marine; depth range 0 - 200 m (Ref. 54238), usually 30 - ? m (Ref. 9688)

Climate / Range

Subtropical; 50°N - 43°S, 16°E - 71°W (Ref. 43)

Indo-Pacific: tropical and temperate waters approximately 45°- 50°N and 40°-35°S in the western Pacific, 35°N and 35°S in the eastern Pacific; 45°S in western Indian Ocean and 35°S in eastern Indian Ocean. Entered Mediterranean Sea from Red sea via Suez Canal. Highly migratory species, Annex I of the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea (Ref. 26139). Some authors recognize a single worldwide species, Istiophorus platypterus (Shaw & Nodder 1792) but we follow Nakamura 1990 (Ref. 10820) retaining the usage of Istiophorus platypterus for the Indo-Pacific sailfish and Istiophorus albicans for the Atlantic sailfish in recognition of the differences between them.
Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 47 - 53; Anal spines: 2; Anal soft rays: 12 - 15. Body elongate and compressed; upper jaw prolonged into a very long beak; two dorsal fins, the first very large and tail; pelvic fins narrow but very long, almost reaching anus, with 1 spine and 2 rays; body covered with small, embedded scales with 1 or 2 blunt points; back dark with about 20 bluish vertical bars; belly pale silver; membrane of first dorsal fin blue black with numerous dark spots (Ref. 55763). A slender billfish with a high, sail-like first dorsal fin (Ref. 26938).

Oceanic and epipelagic species usually found above the thermocline. Most densely distributed in waters close to coasts and islands (Ref. 9688). Most likely schools by size. Undergoes spawning migrations in the Pacific (Ref. 43). Feeds mainly on fishes, crustaceans and cephalopods. Utilized fresh, smoked and frozen; also used for sashimi and sushi; eaten broiled and baked (Ref. 9987).


IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 57073)	Threat to humans
Not Evaluated	Harmless

Human uses
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes


More information
Countries FAO areas Ecosystems Occurrences Introductions Ecology Diet Food items Food consumption Ration	Common names Synonyms Metabolism Predators Ecotoxicology Reproduction Maturity Spawning Eggs Egg development	Age/Size Growth Length-weight Length-length Length-frequencies Morphometrics Morphology Larvae Larval dynamics Recruitment	Other references Biblio Aquaculture Aquaculture profile Strains Genetics Allele frequencies Heritability Diseases Processing	Collaborators Pictures Stamps Sounds Ciguatera Speed Swim. type Gill area Otoliths Brains Vision

Tools
Biogeographic modelling \| E-book \| Field guide \| Identification keys \| Length-frequency wizard \| Life-history tool \| Point map

Special reports
Check for Aquarium maintenance \| Check for Species Fact Sheets \| Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

Download XML
Summary page \| Point data \| Common names \| Photos

Internet sources

Estimation of some characteristics with mathematical models

Resilience (Ref. 69278)

Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (rm=0.11; K=0.4-0.8)


Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)	Price category (Ref. 80766)
High to very high vulnerability (74 of 100)	Very high

Entered by Luna, Susan M.

Modified by Kesner-Reyes, Kathleen

Back to Search

Fish Forum

Comments & Corrections

Sign our Guest Book

FishBase mirror site : US - CGNET

Page last modified by : elaxamana, 15 July 2009

Custom Search