''Makaira'' (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

via

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: ''μαχαίρα'' "sword") is a genus of

marlin Marlins are fish from the family Istiophoridae, which includes between 9 and 11 species, depending on the taxonomic authority. Name The family's common name is thought to derive from their resemblance to a sailor's marlinspike. Taxonomy T ...

in the family

Istiophoridae Marlins are fish from the family Istiophoridae, which includes between 9 and 11 species, depending on the taxonomic authority. Name The family's common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular n ...

. It includes the Atlantic blue and Indo-Pacific blue marlins. In the past, the

black marlin The black marlin (''Istiompax indica'') is a species of marlin found in tropical and subtropical areas of the Indian and Pacific Oceans approximately between 40 degrees North and 45 degrees South, while in some instances venturing into more tem ...

was also included in this genus, but today it is placed in its own genus, '' Istiompax''.

Species

* ''Makaira nigricans'' Lacepède, 1802 (

Atlantic blue marlin The Atlantic blue marlin (''Makaira nigricans'') is a species of marlin endemic to the Atlantic Ocean. It is closely related to, and usually considered conspecific with, the Indo-Pacific blue marlin, then simply called blue marlin. Some author ...

) * ''Makaira mazara'' (

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

& Snyder, 1901) (

Indo-Pacific blue marlin The Indo-Pacific blue marlin (''Makaira mazara'') is a species of marlin belonging to the family Istiophoridae. Taxonomy ''Makaira mazara'' is closely related to, and usually considered conspecific with, the Atlantic blue marlin, then simply c ...

) Although they are traditionally listed as separate

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

, recent research indicates that the Atlantic blue marlin (''Makaira nigricans'') and Indo-Pacific blue marlin (''Makaira mazara'') may be parapatric populations of the same species. The following fossil species are also known: * †'' Makaira adensa'' Gracia ''et al'', 2024 - late

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

of Italy * †''

Makaira belgica ''Makaira'' (Latin via Greek: ''μαχαίρα'' "sword") is a genus of marlin in the family Istiophoridae. It includes the Atlantic blue and Indo-Pacific blue marlins. In the past, the black marlin was also included in this genus, but today i ...

'' (Lériche, 1926) - middle Miocene of Belgium, late Miocene of Italy * †'' Makaira colonense'' Gracia ''et al'', 2022 - late Miocene of

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

* †'' Makaira cyclovata'' Gracia ''et al'', 2024 - late Miocene of Italy * †'' Makaira fierstini'' Gracia et al, 2022 - late Miocene of Panama * †'' Makaira panamense'' Fierstine, 1978 - late Miocene of Panama * †'' Makaira purdyi'' Fierstine, 1999 -

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, USA * †'' Makaira teretirostris'' (Rütimeyer, 1857) - early Pliocene of France Phylogenetic analyses recover these fossil ''Makaira'' as together forming a clade more derived than the extant species, despite all of them being extinct.

References

Marine fish genera Extant Burdigalian first appearances {{Carangiformes-stub