Makaira

"Blue marlin" redirects here. For other uses, see Blue marlin (disambiguation).

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.^[2] In the past, the black marlin was also included in this genus, but today it is placed in its own genus, Istiompax.

Makaira Temporal range: Middle Miocene to present PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Atlantic blue marlin, Makaira nigricans
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1)[1] (Note that the IUCN recognises the blue marlin as a single species)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Carangiformes
Family:	Istiophoridae
Genus:	Makaira Lacépède, 1802
Type species
Makaira nigricans Lacepède, 1802
Species
Makaira mazara Makaira nigricans
Synonyms
Eumakaira Hirasaka & H. Nakamura, 1947 Marlina Hirasaka & H. Nakamura, 1947 Orthocraeros J. L. B. Smith, 1956

Species

• Makaira nigricans Lacepède, 1802 (Atlantic blue marlin)
• Makaira mazara (Jordan & Snyder, 1901) (Indo-Pacific blue marlin)

Although they are traditionally listed as separate species, 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.^[2][3]

The following fossil species are also known:^[4][5]

• †Makaira adensa Gracia et al, 2024 - late Miocene of Italy
• †Makaira belgica (Lériche, 1926) - middle Miocene of Belgium, late Miocene of Italy
• †Makaira colonense Gracia et al, 2022 - late Miocene of Panama
• †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 of North Carolina, 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.^[5]

References

1. Collette, B.; Acero, A.; Amorim, A.F.; Boustany, A.; Canales Ramirez, C.; Cardenas, G.; Carpenter, K.E.; de Oliveira Leite Jr.; N.; Di Natale, A.; Die, D.; Fox, W.; Fredou, F.L.; Graves, J.; Guzman-Mora, A.; Viera Hazin, F.H.; Hinton, M.; Juan Jorda, M.; Minte Vera, C.; Miyabe, N.; Montano Cruz, R.; Nelson, R.; Oxenford, H.; Restrepo, V.; Salas, E.; Schaefer, K.; Schratwieser, J.; Serra, R.; Sun, C.; Teixeira Lessa, R.P.; Pires Ferreira Travassos, P.E.; Uozumi, Y.; Yanez, E. (2011). "Makaira nigricans". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2011: e.T170314A6743776. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-2.RLTS.T170314A6743776.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
2. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Makaira". FishBase. February 2018 version.
3. Chen, Hui; Chang, Chia-Hao; Sun, Chi-Lu; Shao, Kwang-Tsao; Yeh, Su-Zan; DiNardo, Gerard (2016). "Population Structure of Blue Marlin, Makaira nigricans, in the Pacific and Eastern Indian Oceans". Zoological Studies. 55 (55): e33. doi:10.6620/ZS.2016.55-33. ISSN 1021-5506. PMC 6511819. PMID 31966178.
4. De Gracia, Carlos; Correa-Metrio, Alex; Carvalho, Mónica; Velez-Juarbe, Jorge; Přikryl, Tomáš; Jaramillo, Carlos; Kriwet, Jürgen (2022-12-31). "Towards a unifying systematic scheme of fossil and living billfishes (Teleostei, Istiophoridae)". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 20 (1): 1–36. doi:10.1080/14772019.2022.2091959. ISSN 1477-2019.
5. De Gracia, Carlos; Villalobos-Segura, Eduardo; Ballen, Gustavo A.; Carnevale, Giorgio; Kriwet, Jürgen (2024). "Phylogenetic patterns in fossil and living billfishes (Istiophoriformes, Istiophoridae): evidence from the Central Mediterranean". Papers in Palaeontology. 10 (4). doi:10.1002/spp2.1559. ISSN 2056-2799.