Family: XIPHIIDAE, Swordfish

FAMILY XIPHIIDAE

SWORDFISH

The swordfish is large (4.5 m) with an elongate, rounded body, tapering to rear; head large, with a very long flattened bill; no teeth on jaws in adult; 1st dorsal fin short based, high, curved, well separated from 2nd dorsal, which is small, at rear of body; no pelvic fins; 1st anal fin short based, fin long and curved, between the 2 dorsals, 2nd anal tiny, under 2nd dorsal; tail base with a large keel on each side and a deep notch above and below just before tail fin; tail fin large, strongly concave; adult with no scales and no lateral line.

This family contains a single species, the swordfish, Xiphias gladius, which has a circumglobal distribution.

PREPARED BY D ROSS ROBERTSON, AFTER COLLETTE (2002)