Credit: Illustration by Diane Rome Peebles

Family Istiophoridae

Description: color cobalt blue on top shading to silvery white on bottom; upper jaw elongated in form of a spear; dorsal fin pointed at front end; pectoral fin and anal fin pointed; lateral line reticulated (interwoven like a net), difficult to see in large specimens; no dark spots on dorsal fin; body covered with imbedded scales ending in one or two sharp points

Similar fish: white marlin, T. albidus (white has rounded dorsal at front end, rounded tip of pectoral and anal fins, and spots on the dorsal fin)

Where found: OFFSHORE, a bluewater fish

Size: common to 8 feet

Remarks: uses its bill to stun fast-moving fishes, then turns to consume them; spawning procedures unknown; ranges throughout the Atlantic and Caribbean; feeds on squid and pelagic fishes

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