Marlin


A marlin is a fish from the family Istiophoridae, which includes about 10 species. It 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. Marlins are among the fastest marine swimmers, reaching ~36 km/hr in short bursts. However, greatly exaggerated speeds are often claimed in popular literature, based on unreliable or outdated reports.
The larger species include the Atlantic blue marlin, Makaira nigricans, which can reach in length and in weight and the black marlin, Istiompax indica, which can reach in excess of in length and in weight. They are popular sporting fish in tropical areas. The Atlantic blue marlin and the White marlin are endangered owing to overfishing.

Classification

The marlins are Istiophoriform fish, most closely related to the swordfish，which is the sole member of Xiphiidae. The carangiformes is believed to be the second-closest clade to the Marlins. Although previously thought to be closely related to Scombridae, genetic analysis only shows a slight relationship.

Timeline of genera


ImageSize = width:1000px height:auto barincrement:15px
PlotArea = left:10px bottom:50px top:10px right:10px
Period = from:-65.5 till:10
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:-65.5
ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:-65.5
TimeAxis = orientation:hor
AlignBars = justify
Colors =
#legends
id:CAR value:claret
id:ANK value:rgb
id:HER value:teal
id:HAD value:green
id:OMN value:blue
id:black value:black
id:white value:white
id:cenozoic value:rgb
id:paleogene value:rgb
id:paleocene value:rgb
id:eocene value:rgb
id:oligocene value:rgb
id:neogene value:rgb
id:miocene value:rgb
id:pliocene value:rgb
id:quaternary value:rgb
id:pleistocene value:rgb
id:holocene value:rgb
BarData=
bar:eratop
bar:space
bar:periodtop
bar:space
bar:NAM1
bar:NAM2
bar:NAM3
bar:NAM4
bar:space
bar:period
bar:space
bar:era
PlotData=
align:center textcolor:black fontsize:M mark: width:25
shift:
bar:periodtop
from: -65.5 till: -55.8 color:paleocene text:Paleocene
from: -55.8 till: -33.9 color:eocene text:Eocene
from: -33.9 till: -23.03 color:oligocene text:Oligocene
from: -23.03 till: -5.332 color:miocene text:Miocene
from: -5.332 till: -2.588 color:pliocene text:Plio.
from: -2.588 till: -0.0117 color:pleistocene text:Pleist.
from: -0.0117 till: 0 color:holocene text:H.
bar:eratop
from: -65.5 till: -23.03 color:paleogene text:Paleogene
from: -23.03 till: -2.588 color:neogene text:Neogene
from: -2.588 till: 0 color:quaternary text:Q.
PlotData=
align:left fontsize:M mark: width:5 anchor:till align:left
color:eocene bar:NAM1 from: -55.8 till: 0 text: Pseudohistiophorus
color:miocene bar:NAM2 from: -23.03 till: 0 text: Tetrapterus
color:miocene bar:NAM3 from: -15.97 till: 0 text: Istiophorus
color:miocene bar:NAM4 from: -11.608 till: 0 text: Makaira
PlotData=
align:center textcolor:black fontsize:M mark: width:25
bar:period
from: -65.5 till: -55.8 color:paleocene text:Paleocene
from: -55.8 till: -33.9 color:eocene text:Eocene
from: -33.9 till: -23.03 color:oligocene text:Oligocene
from: -23.03 till: -5.332 color:miocene text:Miocene
from: -5.332 till: -2.588 color:pliocene text:Plio.
from: -2.588 till: -0.0117 color:pleistocene text:Pleist.
from: -0.0117 till: 0 color:holocene text:H.
bar:era
from: -65.5 till: -23.03 color:paleogene text:Paleogene
from: -23.03 till: -2.588 color:neogene text:Neogene
from: -2.588 till: 0 color:quaternary text:Q.

In literature

In the Nobel Prize-winning author Ernest Hemingway's 1952 novel The Old Man and the Sea, the central character of the work is an aged Cuban fisherman who, after 84 days without success on the water, heads out to sea to break his run of bad luck. On the 85th day, Santiago, the old fisherman, hooks a resolute marlin; what follows is a great struggle between man, sea creature, and the elements.
Frederick Forsyth's story "The Emperor", in the collection No Comebacks, tells of a bank manager named Murgatroyd, who catches a marlin and is acknowledged by the islanders of Mauritius as a master fisherman.