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Makaira nigricans Lacepède, 1802

Blue marlin
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Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
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Makaira nigricans   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Makaira nigricans (Blue marlin)
Makaira nigricans
Female picture by Baumeier, E.

Common names from other countries

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

> Carangiformes (Jacks) > Istiophoridae (Billfishes)
Etymology: Makaira: Greek,makaira, -as = happy, rich (Ref. 45335).
  More on author: Lacepède.

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

marino; oceanodromo (Ref. 51243); distribuzione batimetrica 0 - 1000 m (Ref. 43).   Subtropical; 22°C - 31°C (Ref. 43); 50°N - 45°S, 180°W - 180°E (Ref. 43)

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

Atlantic Ocean: in tropical and temperate waters. We follow Nakamura 1985 (Ref. 43) in recognizing Makaira mazara and Makaira nigricans as two distinct species chiefly because of differences in the pattern of the lateral line system. Many scientists, however, do not recognize this character as specifically diagnostic and consider the latter species as a single pantropical species occurring in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. Highly migratory species.

Length at first maturity / Size / Peso / Age

Maturity: Lm ?, range 50 - ? cm
Max length : 500 cm TL maschio/sesso non determinato; (Ref. 11441); 500.0 cm TL (female); common length : 290 cm TL maschio/sesso non determinato; (Ref. 6659); peso massimo pubblicato: 636.0 kg (Ref. 40637); peso massimo pubblicato: 636.0 kg

Short description Chiavi di identificazione | Morfologia | Morfometria

Spine dorsali (totale) : 0; Raggi dorsali molli (totale) : 45 - 50; Spine anali: 0; Raggi anali molli: 19 - 23. Body blue-black above and silvery white below, with about 15 rows of pale cobalt-colored stripes; 1st dorsal fin plain blackish or dark blue, other fins brown black with a tinge of dark blue in some specimens; anal fin bases with a tinge of silvery white. Lateral line a network of interconnecting canals (Ref. 26938).

Biologia     Glossario (es. epibenthic)

An oceanic species. Water color affects its occurrence, at least in the northern Gulf of Mexico, where the fish show preference for blue water. Rarely gathers in schools and usually found as scattered single individuals. Feeds mainly on fishes but also preys on octopods and squids. Marketed fresh or frozen (Ref. 43). Feeding takes place during daytime. Maturity reached at about 80 cm in males and 50 cm in females (Ref. 36731). Females grow larger (Ref. 4770). Recent study indicates maximum age close to 20 years using a series of deductions in the ¹⁴C dating method (Ref. 120707).

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

Subripe ova are opaque, white to yellow, and 0.3 to 0.5 mm in diameter. Transparent spherical eggs flowing out of a ripe ovary measured 1 mm in diameter.

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)

  Vulnerabile, vedi Lista Rossa IUCN (VU) (A2bd); Date assessed: 10 May 2021

CITES (Ref. 128078)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless




Human uses

Pesca: commerciale; Pesce da pesca sportiva: si
FAO(pesca: production; publication : search) | FIRMS (Stock assessments) | FishSource | Sea Around Us

Informazioni ulteriori

Trophic ecology
Prede
Diet compositions
Food consumptions
Food rations
Predatori
Ecology
Ecologia
Home ranges
Population dynamics
Growths
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversions
Recruitments
Abundances
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
Varietà
Ciguatera cases
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References
Bibliografia

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Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 11.5 - 27.3, mean 22.4 (based on 477 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.7505   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00427 (0.00256 - 0.00710), b=3.11 (2.96 - 3.26), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  4.5   ±0.3 se; based on diet studies.
Resilienza (Ref. 120179):  Medio, tempo minimo di raddoppiamento della popolazione 1.4 - 4.4 anni (K=0.1-0.3).
Prior r = 0.44, 95% CL = 0.29 - 0.66, Based on 6 full stock assessments.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Moderate to high vulnerability (52 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  Moderate to high vulnerability (50 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   High.