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Xiphias gladius Linnaeus, 1758

Swordfish
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Xiphias gladius   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Xiphias gladius
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Colombia country information

Common names: [No common name]
Occurrence: native
Salinity: marine
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: | Ref:
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments: Also Ref. 5217, 9354.
National Checklist:
Country Information: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/co.html
National Fisheries Authority:
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Nakamura, I., 1985
National Database:

Common names from other countries

Classification / Names Nomi Comuni | Sinonimi | Catalog of Fishes(Genere, Specie) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

> Carangiformes (Jacks) > Xiphiidae (Swordfish)
Etymology: Xiphias: Greek, xiphos = sword (Ref. 45335).
  More on author: Linnaeus.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecologia

marino; oceanodromo (Ref. 51243); distribuzione batimetrica 0 - 2878 m (Ref. 116993), usually 0 - 550 m (Ref. 54934).   Temperate; 5°C - 27°C (Ref. 43); 69°N - 50°S, 180°W - 180°E (Ref. 54934)

Distribuzione Stati | Aree FAO | Ecosystems | Presenze | Point map | Introduzioni | Faunafri

Atlantic, Indian and Pacific: tropical and temperate and sometimes cold waters, including the Mediterranean Sea, the Sea of Marmara, the Black Sea, and the Sea of Azov. Highly migratory species. Mt DNA restriction analysis reveal that genetic differentiation occurs between populations inhabiting the Mediterranean Sea and the tropical Atlantic ocean, indicating little genetic exchange occurring between the two (Ref. 12784).

Length at first maturity / Size / Peso / Age

Maturity: Lm 212.0, range 156 - 250 cm
Max length : 455 cm FL maschio/sesso non determinato; (Ref. 40637); common length : 300 cm TL maschio/sesso non determinato; (Ref. 9354); peso massimo pubblicato: 650.0 kg (Ref. 4689)

Short description Chiavi di identificazione | Morfologia | Morfometria

Spine dorsali (totale) : 0; Raggi dorsali molli (totale) : 38 - 56; Spine anali: 0; Raggi anali molli: 16 - 18. Blackish-brown fading to light-brown below; 1st dorsal fin with blackish-brown membrane, other fins brown or blackish-brown (Ref. 43). A long, flat, sword-like bill and no pelvic fins (Ref. 26938).

Biologia     Glossario (es. epibenthic)

Oceanic but sometimes found in coastal waters (Ref. 9354). Generally above the thermocline (Ref. 9354), preferring temperatures of 18°C to 22°C (Ref. 9987). Larvae are frequently encountered at temperatures above 24 °C (Ref. 9702). Migrate toward temperate or cold waters in the summer and back to warm waters in the fall. Adults are opportunistic feeders, known to forage for their food from the surface to the bottom over a wide depth range (Ref. 9702). Feed mainly on fishes (Atlantic mackerel, barracudinas, silver hake, redfish, herring and lanternfishes (Ref. 5951); also on crustaceans and squids (Ref. 9354). They use their sword to kill their prey (Ref. 9354). Large individuals may accumulate large percentages of mercury in its flesh (Ref. 9354). Are batch spawners (Ref. 51846). Spawning takes place in Atlantic during spring in southern Sargasso Sea. Migrate to cooler waters to feed (Ref. 4689). Females grow fastest. Determination of age is difficult since the otoliths are very small and scales are missing in adults. Year rings have been successfully counted on cross sections of the fin rays (Ref. 35388). Pelagic eggs measure 1.6-1.8mm and the newly hatched larvae is 4 mm long. Sword is well developed at a length of 10mm and young live pelagically in the upper water layers where they quickly develop into very voracious predators (Ref. 35388). Mt DNA restriction analysis reveal that genetic differentiation occurs between populations inhabiting the Mediterranean Sea and the tropical Atlantic ocean, indicating little genetic exchange occurring between the two (Ref. 12784). Good food fish, marketed fresh or frozen, and can be made into sashimi, teriyaki or fillets (Ref. 9354).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Riproduzione | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larve

In the Atlantic Ocean, spawning occurs in the upper water layer at depths between 0 and 75 m, at temperatures around 23°C, and salinity of 33.8 to 37.4 ppt. The distribution of larval broadbill swordfish in the Pacific Ocean indicates that spawning occurs mainly in waters with a temperature of 24°C or more. Spawning appears to occur in all seasons in equatorial waters, but is restricted to spring and summer at higher latitudes (Ref. 30448). Fertilisation in broadbill swordfish is external and pairing of solitary males and females is thought to occur when spawning (Ref. 9742). Broadbill swordfish are reported to spawn in the upper layers of the water column, from the surface to a depth of 75 m (Ref. 43). Estimates of egg numbers vary considerably, from 1 million to 16 million in 168,000 g female (Ref. 9742) and 29 million in a 272,000 g female (Ref. 30372).

Main reference Upload your references | Bibliografia | Coordinatore | Collaboratori

Nakamura, I., 1985. FAO species catalogue. Vol. 5. Billfishes of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of marlins, sailfishes, spearfishes and swordfishes known to date. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(5):65p. Rome: FAO. (Ref. 43)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Near Threatened (NT) (A2bd); Date assessed: 01 May 2021

CITES (Ref. 128078)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans





Human uses

Pesca: commerciale; Pesce da pesca sportiva: si

Informazioni ulteriori

Trophic ecology
Prede
Diet compositions
Food consumptions
Food rations
Predatori
Ecology
Ecologia
Home ranges
Life cycle
Riproduzione
Maturities
Fecundities
Spawnings
Spawning aggregations
Egg(s)
Egg developments
Larve
Dinamica popolazioni larvali
Distribution
Stati
Aree FAO
Ecosystems
Presenze
Introduzioni
BRUVS - Videos
Anatomy
Gill areas
Cervelli
Otoliths
Physiology
Body compositions
Nutrients
Oxygen consumptions
Swimming type
Swimming speeds
Visual pigment(s)
Suoni dei Pesci
Diseases / Parasites
Toxicities (LC50s)
Genetics
Genetica
Electrophoreses
Heritabilities
Human related
Aquaculture systems
Profili di acquacoltura
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Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 10.9 - 27.6, mean 22.7 (based on 5276 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 1.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00380 (0.00160 - 0.00904), b=3.14 (2.92 - 3.36), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  4.5   ±0.2 se; based on diet studies.
Resilienza (Ref. 120179):  Medio, tempo minimo di raddoppiamento della popolazione 1.4 - 4.4 anni (rm=0.076; K=0.23; tm=5-6; tmax=9).
Prior r = 0.46, 95% CL = 0.30 - 0.69, Based on 17 full stock assessments.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  High to very high vulnerability (72 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  Moderate vulnerability (43 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Very high.