Swordfish today is considered the only representative of the family of swordfish. This animal got its name due to the peculiar shape of the upper jaw. Usually an adult swordfish, a photo of which can be easily found on the Internet, can reach a length of more than four meters, and its weight fluctuates around half a ton. Animals live in tropical and subtropical waters, sometimes they can be found in the Black and Azov Sea. Individuals appear in moderately warm waters during the period of fodder migration. So, at this time, fish can be found in the waters of Iceland, near Newfoundland. Animals appear in the North Sea.
Swordfish has an elongated upper jaw, powerful lateral keels on the tail. The body of the animal is devoid of scales. All this in a complex allows her to develop a sufficiently high speed - up to one hundred and thirty kilometers per hour. The swordfish does not have ventral fins, and its tail resembles a crescent in shape. Adult representatives have almost no teeth, but young animals have jaw teeth. As gill petals, they have mesh plates.
The jaw-shaped upper jaw deserves special attention. This part makes up about a third of the entire body length. With the help of its upper jaw, the swordfish strikes its prey: it cuts it in half. This is evidenced by the bodies of squid and fish found in her stomach.
Outwardly, a sailing slave resembles a swordfish. Despite the almost identical sizes and external data, they belong to different families.
The similarity is seen in the photo.
Swordfish lives in waters with a fairly wide temperature range. During fattening, members of the family are not too demanding on warm waters; they are often found in water areas with temperatures of about twelve degrees. During the spawning period, the situation changes dramatically. Swordfish spawns exclusively in tropical waters, the temperature of which is more than twenty-three degrees.
Animals are quite high in fertility. A small female can lay a lot of eggs - more than fifteen million. From relatively large larvae appear, characterized by a relatively short jaw, and when the larva reaches a length of eight millimeters, it takes the form of a spear. Compared to adult individuals that have no teeth or scales, the fry have coarse scales with small spikes, as well as jaw teeth. Puberty occurs around the fifth or sixth year of life.
The nutrition of the larvae depends on their age. At the very beginning of development, they manage with zooplankton. When their length reaches a centimeter, they switch to small fish. During the first year of life, fish individuals reach about fifty centimeters. By the third year, their length often becomes more than a meter. Adults also feed on small fish that inhabit near-surface waters. Large predators, such as tuna, are also included in the diet. In rare cases, swordfish can even attack a shark.
