Marlin

The family's common name is thought to derive from their resemblance to a sailor's marlinspike.

Taxonomy

The family name Istiophoridae comes from the genus Istiophorus which first placed the species Istiophorus platypterus by George Kearsley Shaw in 1792 from the Greek word ἱστίον istion meaning "sail" that describes the shape of the species's dorsal fins.^: 6

Marlins have elongated bodies, a spear-like snout or bill, and a long, rigid dorsal fin which extends forward to form a crest.

Marlins are among the fastest marine swimmers. However, greatly exaggerated speeds are often claimed in popular literature, based on unreliable or outdated reports.

The larger species include the Atlantic blue marlin, Makaira nigricans, which can reach 5 m (16 ft) in length and 820 kg (1,810 lb) in weight and the black marlin, Istiompax indica, which can reach in excess of 5 m (16 ft) in length and 670 kg (1,480 lb) in weight. They are popular sporting fish in tropical areas. The Atlantic blue marlin and the white marlin are endangered owing to overfishing.

Marlins can change colour, lighting up their stripes just before attacking prey.

The marlins are Istiophoriform fish, most closely related to the swordfish (which itself is the sole member of the family Xiphiidae). The carangiformes are believed to be the second-closest clade to marlins. Although previously thought to be closely related to Scombridae, genetic analysis only shows a slight relationship.

Istiophoriform genera and species

Image	Genus	Living species	Common name
black marlin	Istiompax (Whitley, 1931)	Istiompax indica	black marlin
Atlantic sailfish	Istiophorus (Lacépède, 1801)	I. albicans	Atlantic sailfish
		I. platypterus	Indo-Pacific sailfish
Atlantic blue	Makaira (Lacépède, 1802)	Makaira nigricans (Lacepède, 1802)	Atlantic blue marlin
		Makaira mazara (Jordan & Snyder, 1901)	Indo-Pacific blue marlin
white marlin	Kajikia (Hirasaka & H. Nakamura, 1947)	Kajikia albida (Poey, 1860)	white marlin
		Kajikia audax (Philippi (Krumweide), 1887)	striped marlin
longbill	Tetrapturus (Rafinesque, 1810)	Tetrapturus angustirostris (S. Tanaka (I), 1915)	shortbill spearfish
		Tetrapturus belone (Rafinesque, 1810)	Mediterranean spearfish
		Tetrapturus georgii (R.T. Lowe, 1841)	roundscale spearfish
		Tetrapturus pfluegeri (C. R. Robins & de Sylva, 1963)	longbill spearfish

Timeline of genera

 

In the Nobel Prize-winning author Ernest Hemingway's 1952 novel The Old Man and the Sea, the central character of the work is an aged Cuban fisherman who, after 84 days without success on the water, heads out to sea to break his run of bad luck. On the 85th day, Santiago, the old fisherman, hooks a resolute marlin; what follows is a great struggle between man, sea creature, and the elements.

Frederick Forsyth's story "The Emperor", in the collection No Comebacks, tells of a bank manager named Murgatroyd, who catches a marlin and is acknowledged by the islanders of Mauritius as a master fisherman.

A marlin features prominently in the last chapter and climactic scenes of Christina Stead's The Man Who Loved Children. Sam's friend Saul gives Sam a marlin, and Sam makes his children help him render the fish's fat.

The Miami Marlins, a professional baseball team based in Miami, Florida, is named after the fish.

• Marlin fishing
• Sailfish