A Marlin in Angola, with a Note on Makaira herschelli (Gray), 1838

Abstract

MARLIN fishes of the genus Makaira Lacépède, 1801, in which the dorsal fin is lower than the body, are found over wide areas of the three main oceans in a broad equatorial belt, mostly within the 20° isotherms. In the Atlantic proper there has so far been found only the so-called ‘blue’ marlin, generally named Makaira ampla (Poey), 1860. This fish, doubtfully distinct by full specific rank from the Indo-Pacific ‘black’ marlin, M. herschelii (Gray), 1838, is said to occur also in the Pacific. In the Atlantic, the blue marlin has been recorded in scientific literature chiefly from the region of the West Indies, and from the north-western coastal areas of South America, It has also been reported from off southwestern Europe, and from St. Helena (lat. 16° S., long. 5° 40′W.) in the south Atlantic. The other smaller marlin of the Atlantic, and confined to that ocean, Lamontella¹ albida (Poey), 1860, has a somewhat similar but less extensive distribution than M. ampla, while the ‘mystery’ marlin, Orthocraeros¹ bermudae (Mowbray), 1931, is known from only one specimen, photographed but regrettably destroyed.