Atlantic sailfish
Istiophorus albicans (Latreille, 1804)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Atlantic sailfish (Istiophorus albicans) is a species of marine fish in the family Istiophoridae of the order Istiophoriformes. It is found in the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, except for large areas of the central North Atlantic and the central South Atlantic, from the surface to depths of 200 m (656 ft). The Atlantic sailfish is related to the marlin.
Tests in the 1920s estimated that the Atlantic sailfish was capable of short sprints of up to 111 kilometres per hour (69 mph); however, more conservative estimates of 37 to 55 kilometres per hour (23 to 34 mph) are more widely accepted. More recent studies even suggest sailfish do not exceed swimming speeds of 36 km/h (22 mph).
Atlantic sailfish hunt schooling fish, such as sardines, anchovies and mackerel although they also feed on crustaceans and cephalopods.
Wikipedia contributors, Atlantic sailfish; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:38:25.753537+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Istiophorus albicans (Latreille, 1804)
- Name authority
- (Latreille, 1804)
- Common name
- Atlantic sailfish
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Carangiformes
- Family
- Istiophoridae
- Genus
- Istiophorus
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderCarangiformes
- familyIstiophoridae Rafinesque, 1815
- genusIstiophorus Lacepède, 1801
- speciesIstiophorus albicans (Latreille, 1804)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Istiophorus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Indo-Pacific sailfishIstiophorus platypterus (Shaw, 1792) | IstiophoridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Histiophorus albicans (Latreille, 1804) (Latreille, 1804) | synonym |
| Istiophorus americanus (Cuvier, 1832) (Cuvier, 1832) | synonym |
| Istiophorus volador Jordan & Evermann, 1926 Jordan & Evermann, 1926 | synonym |
| Makaira velifera Cuvier, 1832 Cuvier, 1832 | synonym |
| Istiophorus maguirei Jordan & Evermann, 1926 Jordan & Evermann, 1926 | synonym |
| Skeponopodus guebucu Nardo, 1833 Nardo, 1833 | synonym |
| Histiophorus americanus Cuvier, 1832 Cuvier, 1832 | synonym |
| Istiophorus wrighti Jordan & Evermann, 1926 Jordan & Evermann, 1926 | synonym |
| Makaira albicans Latreille, 1804 Latreille, 1804 | synonym |
| Histiophorus pulchellus Cuvier, 1832 Cuvier, 1832 | synonym |
| Histiophorus granulifer Castelnau, 1861 Castelnau, 1861 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=126949 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3QDBW. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.