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Kajikia albida

No common name
NS GNR NS SNR
Collection Details

Specimens

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Records

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Taxonomic Hierarchy

Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes) Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri) Istiophoridae (Billfishes) Kajikia Kajikia albida

Description

This species account was compiled from FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2025. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version 04/2025.) and processed using AI-assisted text extraction. It may contain errors in spelling, punctuation, or formatting. When citing, please reference the original source rather than this page. Learn more about our species accounts.

Characters

Body shape: elongated. Blue-black above, silvery white and splattered with brown on the sides, silvery white below; sometimes with more than 15 rows of obscure whitish stripes; 1st dorsal fin dark blue with black dots; 2nd dorsal fin dark blue; pectorals blackish brown, with tinges of silvery white in some specimens; pelvic fins blue-black with a black fin membrane; caudal fin blackish brown.

Distribution

Atlantic Ocean: roughly from 45°N to 45°S in the southwestern Atlantic and 35°S in the southeastern Atlantic. Records from the Mediterranean Sea, and from Bretagne, France seem to correspond to a few straying individuals. Classified as 'reduced' (Ref. 12451). It is unclear whether there are two separate stocks or a single population in the Atlantic. Highly migratory species.

Habitat Associations

Marine. pelagic-oceanic. depth range 0-150 m.

Biology

Usually above the thermocline. Its distribution varies seasonally, reaching higher latitudes in both the northern and southern hemispheres only during the respective warm seasons. Usually found in deep (over 100 m) blue water with surface temperatures over 22°C and salinities of 35 to 37 ppt. Currents of 0.5 to 2 knots occur over much of its habitat. Feeds on fishes and squids. Females grow larger (Ref. 4770). Flesh is of excellent quality. Marketed fresh and frozen.
Max length: 300.0 cm TL; common length: 210.0 cm TL; max weight: 82500 g.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none. Migrates into subtropical waters to spawn, with peak spawning occurring in early summer. The spawning areas are found in deep and blue oceanic waters, generally at high temperatures ranging from 20° to 29°C except in the southern Atlantic gyrals, and high surface salinities (over 35 ppt).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2021-05-01. Resilience: Medium (K=0.58; assuming tm >=2).

Commercial or Environmental Importance

Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish.

References

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.
Nakamura, I. (1986) Istiophoridae. p. 1000-1005. In P.J.P. Whitehead, M.-L. Bauchot, J.-C. Hureau, J. Nielsen and E. Tortonese (eds.) Fishes of the north-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 2.
Júnior, T.V., C.M. Vooren and R.P. Lessa (2004) Feeding habits of four species of Istiophoridae (Piscea: Perciformes) from northeastern Brazil. Environ. Biol. Fishes 70:293-304.

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