Istiophorus albicans (Latreille, 1804). Atlantic 

 sailfish. Nishibashokajiki. Atlantic Ocean. 



Tetrapturus angustirostris Tanaka, 1914. Short- 

 bill spearfish, Furaikajiki. Indo-Pacific Ocean. 



Tetrapturus belone Rafinesque, 1810. Mediterra- 

 nean spearfish, Chichukaifurai. Mediterranean Sea. 



Tetrapturus pfluegeri Robins and de Sylva, 1963. 

 Longbill spearfish, Kuchinagafurai. Atlantic Ocean. 



Tetrapturus albidus Poey, 1860. White marlin, 

 Nishimakajiki. Atlantic Ocean. 



Tetrapturus audax (Philippi, 1887). Striped mar- 

 lin, Makajiki. Indo-Pacific Ocean. 



Makaira mazara (Jordan and Snyder, 1901). Blue 

 marlin, Kurokajiki. Indo-Pacific Ocean. 



Makaira nigricans Lacepede, 1803. Atlantic blue 

 marlin, Nishikurokajiki. Atlantic Ocean. 



Makaira indica (Cuvier. 1831). Black marlin, 

 Shirokajiki. Indo-Pacific Ocean, possibly Atlantic 

 Ocean. 



Several papers published prior to and after 

 Nakamura et al. (1968) disagree with the opinions 

 expressed. Morrow and Harbo (1969) state that 

 there is only one worldwide species of Istiophorus 

 and that their data (which they do not present) do not 

 support the contention made by Nakamura et al. 

 (1968) that small Atlantic specimens (less than 90 

 cm) can be separated from small Indo-Pacific speci- 

 mens based on relative lengths of the pectoral fin. 

 Two papers (Morrow, 1964; Robins and de Sylva, 

 1960) consider the blue marlin to be one species. 

 Nakamura et al. (1968) state that their conclusion is 

 tentative. Nakamura et al. (1968) also state that T. 

 audax may represent two species, one in the North 

 Pacific and one in the South Pacific. Another species 

 of spearfish, the roundscale spearfish, T. georgei 

 (Lowe, 1840), is now recognized in the eastern At- 

 lantic by Robins (paper presented at this sym- 

 posium). Another problem is that the presence of the 

 black marlin in the Atlantic has not, as yet, been 

 thoroughly documented. However, for purposes of 

 identification of the young, some of the current tax- 

 onomic problems should make little difference. 



HISTORICAL SUMMARY 



OF DESCRIPTIONS OF 



YOUNG BILLFISHES 



Nineteenth Century 



Cuvier ( in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1831) was 

 the first to describe young stages of a billfish. He 

 gave a brief description of a young swordfish and 



included a figure of a juvenile. He also described a 

 young 108-mm sailfish as a new species, His- 

 tiophorus pulchellus, and included a fine illustration 

 of the specimen. Morrow and Harbo (1969) place 

 this species in the synonymy of /. platypterus. 

 Riippell (1835a) described an 18-inch juvenile sail- 

 fish from the Red Sea which he also described as new 

 as H. immaculatus. Two precis of Riippell' s de- 

 scription appeared in the same year (1835b, 1835c), 

 but only his 1835a paper included an illustration. 

 Morrow and Harbo (1969) also placed this species 

 in the synonymy of /. platypterus, although the name 

 is misprinted as H. immaculatis in their paper. 

 Giinther (1873-74) described and figured three young 

 billfish which were later figured and briefly de- 

 scribed by him again in 1880. The three figures defy 

 identification because of distortions, lack of detail, 

 and apparent errors by the illustrator, particularly in 

 fin shape and detail. In his 1880 paper there is a brief 

 description of a young swordfish and crude drawing 

 of it. 



Liitken ( 1 880) briefly describes young istiophorids 

 varying in length from 5.5 to 21 mm and compares 

 them with those described by Giinther. He presents 

 a figure of his smallest specimen (5.5 mm) and repro- 

 duces Giinther's original plates. He also describes 

 young swordfish specimens in his possession and 

 reproduces the figure of X. gladius from Cuvier. 

 Liitken made no attempt to assign the young is- 

 tiophorids to any particular species. Goode (1883) 

 reviews these earlier works, reproduces all of the 

 figures thus far cited, and adds one note on the report 

 of a young swordfish by Steindachner (a publication 

 I have not seen). His paper also includes an English 

 translation of Lutken's (1880) Danish text. 



Twentieth Century 



Lo Bianco (1903) reported on the capture of young 

 X. gladius and later (1909) reported on the capture of 

 two 10-mm istiophorids in February from the 

 Mediterranean, southeast of Capri. Since T . belone 

 is the only istiophorid known from the Mediterra- 

 nean, they are presumed to be larvae of T. belone. 

 Padoa (1956) reviews this evidence, illustrates one of 

 the specimens, and further reviews Giinther's and 

 Lutken's work which includes reproductions of their 

 figures. 



Sanzo (1909, 1910, 1922, and 1930), in several 

 papers on swordfish, described eggs; described eggs 

 and larvae at hatching; reexamined eggs and larvae; 

 reared larvae from eggs through the yolk sac stage; 

 described a 13-mm specimen; and described a 6-mm 



63 



