Makaira Explained

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

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.^[1]

The following fossil species are also known:^[2] ^[3]

†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.

Notes and References

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 . e33 . 10.6620/ZS.2016.55-33 . 1021-5506 . 6511819 . 31966178.
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 . en . 20 . 1 . 1–36 . 10.1080/14772019.2022.2091959 . 1477-2019.
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 . en . 10 . 4 . 10.1002/spp2.1559 . 2056-2799. free .