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marlin

 
Dictionary: Mar·lin
Home > Library > Literature & Language > Webster 1913

n.

(Zoöl.) The American great marbled godwit (Limosa fedoa). Applied also to the red-breasted godwit (Limosa hæmatica).

2. [from marlin spike, the shape of its bill.]
Any of several marine billfishes of the genera Makaira and Tetrapturus, popular as game in sport fishing.
[PJC]

Hook-billed marlin, a curlew.

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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: marlin
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Any of four species (genus Makaira, family Istiophoridae) of deep-blue to blue-green marine fish with a long body, a long dorsal fin, a rounded spear extending from the snout (which it uses to club the fish it feeds on), and usually pale vertical stripes. They are highly prized for sport and food. Species range in weight from about 100 lbs (45 kg) to more than 1,500 lbs (700 kg). The Indo-Pacific black marlin (M. nigicans) has a distinctive, stiff pectoral fin set at an angle.

For more information on marlin, visit Britannica.com.

 
Columbia Encyclopedia: marlin
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marlin, common name for open-sea fish related to the sailfish and swordfish (family Istiophoridae) and prized by sportsmen. The best known is the blue marlin of the genus Makaira, found in the Gulf Stream as far north as Long Island. It may reach 1,000 lb (454 kg) in weight. The upper jaw of the marlin extends into a long spike with which it clubs the small fish on which it feeds. The striped marlin of the Pacific reaches a weight of 300 to 400 lb (135-180 kg); the paler white marlin of the Atlantic rarely exceeds 100 lb (45 kg). Marlins are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Osteichthyes, order Perciformes, family Istiophoridae.

WordNet: marlin
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Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: large long-jawed oceanic sport fishes; related to sailfishes and spearfishes; not completely cold-blooded i.e. able to warm their brains and eyes
  Synonym: spearfish

Wikipedia: Marlin
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For other uses, see Marlin (disambiguation).
Marlin
Striped marlin, Tetrapturus audax
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Istiophoridae
Genera

Istiophorus
Makaira
Tetrapturus

Marlin, Istiophoridae, is a "billfish" and is closely linked to freshwater trout. A marlin has an elongated body, a spear-like snout or bill, and a long rigid dorsal fin, which extends forward to form a crest. Its common name is thought to derive from its resemblance to a sailor's marlinspike.[1] Even more so than their close relatives the scombrids, marlin are incredibly fast swimmers, reaching speeds of about 110 kilometres per hour (68 mph).[2][3]

Photo of 8 long-nosed fish on the beach
Morning catch of marlin at Jimbaran, Indonesia

The larger species include the Atlantic blue marlin, Makaira nigricans, which can reach 5.968 metres (19.58 ft) in length and 818 kilograms (1,800 lb) in weight, and the Black marlin, Makaira indica, which can reach in excess of 5 metres (16 ft) in length and 670 kilograms (1,500 lb) in weight. They are popular sporting fish in tropical areas.

Marlin are rarely table fare, appearing mostly in fine restaurants. Most modern sport fishermen release marlin after unhooking. However, the old fisherman in Ernest Hemingway's novella The Old Man and the Sea was storied to have caught an 18-foot (5.5 m) marlin to sell its meat.

Very large marlin, which may set a record, are taken and weighed on shore. Records are most often recorded in the IGFA World Record Game Fish books.

Classification

The marlins are perciform fish, most closely related to the swordfish and Scombridae.

Family Istiophoridae

References

  1. ^ Douglas Harper (November 2001). "marlin". Online Etymological Dictionary. http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=marlin. 
  2. ^ Johnson, G.D. & Gill, A.C. (1998). Paxton, J.R. & Eschmeyer, W.N.. ed. Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. pp. 190–191. ISBN 0-12-547665-5. 
  3. ^ [1]

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Copyrights:

Dictionary. Webster 1913 Dictionary edited by Patrick J. Cassidy  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/.  Read more
WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Marlin".  Read more