Origin
The swordfish (Xiphias gladius) is a ferocious Raptor, recognisable by its smooth skin, lack of scales, crescent-shaped tail fin and long swordlike jaw.
It can reach 6 m in length and a weight of over 800 kg. Its name comes from Greek and Latin (fish and sword).
The fish live in the temperate tropical waters of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans, where they can be found on the surface at depths of 550m. the common swordfish reaches lengths of 3m.
The maximum recorded length is over 4.5 m and the weight is 650 kg.
Swordfish are part of the family Xiphiidae. The International Game Fish Association's largest catch is 536kg, a specimen pulled from the water in Chile in 1953.
Females are larger than males, and swordfish species in the Pacific Ocean are larger than those in the Atlantic Ocean or Mediterranean Sea.
Swordfish food
Swordfish are predatory animals. Most of the food they eat is made up of fish, squid and cephalopods.
They use their" sword " to split large prey into smaller pieces, while smaller prey is swallowed whole.
The enemies of the sword fish is in the front row and obvious.. The man. Natural enemies are the killer whale, and several other fish (Makaira nigricans, Makaira indica, Istiophorus albicans, Thunnus albacares, Coryphaena hippurus). The young are hunted and eaten by sharks.
It feeds every day, mostly on the inset. Day can be found at depths of 550m in search of shoals of fish.
Adults feed on mackerel, Barracudas, hake, herring, but also squid and shellfish. They also consume other fish (gadids, scombrids, butterfish, etc.).
Appearance swordfish
Like the Sawfish, the Swordfish was named after the elongation of the nose. His" sword "is longer than most, if not all" Swords " of aquatic fish species. Swordfish have no teeth. Until it reaches 1m in length the brood has a side stripe that gradually disappears.
Until then, he does not use the "sword" to eat. It probably does not have developed dexterity or is soft, fragile and can break.
They reach a length of 4-5m and a maximum weight of 650 kg. Females are usually larger than males. They have 2 dorsal fins, a larger one followed by a smaller one.
Also have two fins on the belly arranged the same, the big one followed by a small one. The Swordfish is light on the belly, and gradually towards the dorsal fin it darkens. If we look from above we will see a fish of dark brown to black color.
Swordfish behavior
Adults can reach speeds of up to 100 km/h and therefore travel long distances. Swordfish are ectodermal animals.
Like other shark species, they have special organs that warm their eyes and brain.
Of the more than 25,000 animal species, only 22 are known to have the ability to heat their eyes and brains.
The heat improves their eyesight and consequently their ability to catch fish. They were also seen in waters with temperatures of 10-15 degrees and at depths of 2878m.
Fortunately swordfish is not on the list of endangered animals. It seems that it has adapted very well to our times and it seems that in adulthood besides man it has very few predators.
Last century the population of swordfish began to decline and following the successful "give Swordfish a brake" campaign, the number of specimens stabilized again.
Breeding swordfish
The breeding season of the Swordfish is during the summer months and takes place at temperatures of about 24gr C. females, due to their high fertility, carry up to 50 million eggs.
They swim near the coast, as do their larvae that later take on the characteristics of their parents.
The females come to waters with temperatures above 20 degrees of the South Atlantic. Larger adult females can carry more eggs.
They can have from 1 million eggs to 29 million, the most recorded. The eggs are 1.6-1.8 mm in diameter, and after two days of laying begins embryonic development. The Swordfish is evident when the larva reaches 1cm in length.
