Tetrapturus pfluegeri
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Istiophoridae (Billfishes)
Tetrapturus
Tetrapturus pfluegeri (Longbill Spearfish)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
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Characters
Long and relatively high first dorsal fin, nearly straight nape, simple lateral line, very long slender rostrum round in cross section, palatine bone with teeth resembling denticles, pectoral fin long and broad with 18 to 21 rays, first dorsal fin has 44 to 50 rays, some unsegmented and unbranched, second dorsal fin short with 6 or 7 rays, pelvic fin with poorly developed membrane, first anal fin with 12 to 17 rays, second anal fin with 6 or 7 rays, anus located anterior to origin of first anal fin, caudal peduncle compressed with shallow notch mid-dorsally and midventrally, scales elongate and thick with two to five posterior points, vertebrae number 24: 12 precaudal and 12 caudal, gas bladder present with numerous bubblelike chambers
Dark bluish black dorsally and silvery white ventrally, first dorsal fin membrane dark blue without black spots, second dorsal fin dark blue, pectoral fin blackish brown
Distribution
New Jersey and Bermuda to Venezuela, including oceanic waters of the Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Oceanic waters of the tropical to warm temperate Atlantic Ocean, depth range not specified
Biology
Squids and pelagic ray-finned fishes such as engraulids, Alepisaurus spp., Coryphaena spp., and Vomer spp.
Maximum known size is 250 cm TL
Oceanic species, chiefly found in offshore waters, usually above the thermocline. Feed mainly on pelagic fishes and squids (Ref. 4770). Females probably spawn once a year (Ref. 4770). Marketed frozen.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none. Maturation seems to occur at the same time rather than in the same season both in the northern and southern hemisphere, which could be suggestive of homogeneity of the population of this species. Females probably spawn once a year (Ref. 4770).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2021-11-15. Resilience: Medium (Assuming tm=2-4).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish.
References
Robins and de Sylva 1963
Ovchinnikov 1970
Robins 1975
Heemstra 1986b
Nakamura 1986b
Robins and Ray 1986
Boschung 1992
Schaldach et al. 1997
Smith-Vaniz et al. 1999
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.
IGFA (2001) Database of IGFA angling records until 2001. IGFA, Fort Lauderdale, USA.
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.
Patzner, R.A. (2008) Reproductive strategies of fish. pp. 311-350. In Rocha, M.J., A. Arukwe and B.G. Kapoor (eds). Fish reproduction: cytology, biology and ecology. Science Publisher, Inc. Oxford. 631 p.
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