Mediterranean spearfish

Open encyclopedia reference

The Mediterranean spearfish (Tetrapturus belone) is a species of marlin native to the Mediterranean Sea where it is particularly common around Italy, although there is a probable record of one caught off Madeira. It is an open-water fish, being found within 200 metres (660 ft) of the surface. They are highly migratory within the central Mediterranean, with core habitats in the Tyrrhenian Sea and Strait of Sicily. This species can reach a length of 240 centimetres (94 in) TL. The heaviest recorded specimen weighed in at 70 kilograms (150 lb) This species is of minor importance to commercial fisheries.

Wikipedia contributors, Mediterranean spearfish; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:59:36.002367+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Tetrapturus belone Rafinesque, 1810

Name authority

Rafinesque, 1810

Common name

Mediterranean spearfish

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Teleostei

Order

Carangiformes

Family

Istiophoridae

Genus

Tetrapturus

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.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. gigaclassActinopterygii
8. superclassActinopteri
9. classTeleostei
10. orderCarangiformes
11. familyIstiophoridae Rafinesque, 1815
12. genusTetrapturus Rafinesque, 1810
13. speciesTetrapturus belone Rafinesque, 1810

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Tetrapturus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 11 records assigned to Istiophoridae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

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.

1. Rafinesque, C. S. (1810). Caratteri di alcuni nuovi generi e nuove specie di animali e piante della sicilia, con varie osservazioni sopra i medisimi. Per Le Stampe Di Sanfilippo: Palermo, Italy, Part 1 involves fishes, pp. [i–iv] 3–69 [70 blank], Part 2 with slightly different title, pp. ia–iva + 71–105 [106 blank]). Pls. 1–20. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.104418 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:55RXT. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.