Xiphias and Makaira

Xiphias gladius (Linneaus 1758; Gregory and Conrad 1937; up to 4.5m in length) is the extant swordfish, nesting with Aleipisaurus. 1cm long hatchlings more closely resembled little eels, then growing to little sailfish before reducing the long dorsal fin. The sword is not used to spear, but to slice and maim smaller fish traveling in schools. The pelvic fins and ribs are absent, as in eels. Larger females produce more eggs, up to 29 million.

Gregory WK and Conrad GM 1937. The comparative anatomy of the swordfish (Xiphias) and the sailfish (Istiophorus). The American Museum Novitates, 952:1-25.

Johnson GD, Ida H, Sakaue J, Sado T, Asahida T and Miya M 2012. A 'living fossil' eel (Anguilliformes: Protanguillidae, fam nov) from an undersea cave in Palau. Proceedings of the Royal Society: 934–943. doi:10.1098/rspb.2011.1289

Lacepede BG 1802. La menagerie du Museum national d'histoire naturelle.

Linnaeus C von 1758. Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata.

Lowe RT 1833. Description of a new genus of acanthopterygian fishes, Alepisaurus ferox. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1:104.

Lowe RT 1835a. Description of a new genus of acanthopterygian fishes, Alepisaurus ferox. Trans. zool. Soc. Lond., 1: 123-128, pl. 19.

Lowe RT 1835b. Additional observations on Alepisaurus ferox. Trans. zool. Soc. Lond., 1: 395-400, pl. 59.

Miller RR 1979. Ecology, Habits and Relationships of the Middle American Cuatro Ojos, Anableps dowi (Pisces: Anablepidae). Copeia 1:82–91.

Oken L 1817. Les Congres. Cuvier, 1817: 231.

Taverne L 2004. Ostéologie de Pentanogmius evolutus (Cope, 1877) n. comb. (Teleostei, Tselfatiiformes) du Crétacé supérieur marin des États-Unis. Remarques sur la systématique du genre Pentanogmius Taverne, 2000

wiki/Xiphias
wiki/Makaira – wiki/Atlantic_blue_marlin