Shortbill Spearfish, Tetrapturus angustirostris Tanaka 1915


Other Names: Hatchet Marlin, Pacific Shortbilled Spearfish, Short-billed Spearfish, Shortnose Spearfish

A Shortbill Spearfish, Tetrapturus angustirostris, from Rottnest Island, Western Australia, August 2011. Source: Jamie Moir via Mark Mcgrouther / iNaturalist.org. License: CC By Attribution-NonCommercial

Summary:

A rare dark blue billfish becoming silvery-white below, with brownish sides, and a dark blue first dorsal fin that lacks spots. This species has a relatively short upper jaw, a short narrow pectoral fin with a pointed tip, long slender pelvic fins, and the anus is situated well before the anal-fin origin. The Shortbill Spearfish usually occurs in oceanic waters and rarely enters coastal waters.


Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. & Schultz, S. 2020, Tetrapturus angustirostris in Fishes of Australia, accessed 29 Mar 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/2539

Shortbill Spearfish, Tetrapturus angustirostris Tanaka 1915

More Info


Distribution

Recorded from all Australian states except the Northern Territory. Elsewhere, the species is widespread in the tropical and temperate Indo-Pacific, and into the eastern Atlantic.

This oceanic epipelagic species usually occurs well offshore over deeper waters. It rarely enters coastal areas, and is less common that other billfishes throughout its range.

Features

Dorsal-fin 45-50 + 6-7; Anal fin 12-15 + 6-8; Pectoral fin 17-19.

Body elongate and fairly compressed. Bill short (less than 15% of body length) and slender. Lower jaw projecting but shorter than upper jaw (bill). Pectoral fins narrow and less than 15% of body length. Pelvic fins slender and approximately twice the length of the pectoral fins. The first dorsal fin height decreases after the high anterior lobe to about the 19th ray, after which the height increases again. Both jaws and palatines have fine, file-like teeth. Body covered in dense, bony scales each which 3-5 posterior points.

Size

Reaches 230 cm TL and 52 kg. On average, females are slightly larger than males. The all-tackle game fish record is of a 50 kg fish caught in Botany Bay, Sydney, Australia in 2008 (IGFA 2011).

Colour

Dark blue dorsally, blue with brown along the sides and silvery-white ventrally. First dorsal dark blue, other fins dark brown. Anal fin base tinged silvery-white.

Feeding

Feed at or near the surface on small to medium-sized pelagic fishes and squids.

Biology

Spawning appears to occur during winter, in warm offshore currents (above 24 degrees). Eggs are spherical and range in size from 1.3 to 1.6 mm in diameter. Larvae are pelagic.

This fish can weigh up to 52 kg. Average length of fish caught in long lines is 135cm eye fork length in the eastern Pacific. Maximum size is about 2 m and 52 kg in weight. Females are on average slightly larger than males.

Fisheries

No specific fishery in Australian water, but the species is targeted by commercial tuna longlines and is occasionally taken by recreational trolling. Commercial catches are highest in surface waters with bottom depths in the 915-1800 m range.

Conservation

  • IUCN Red List : Data Deficient
  • This highly migratory species is listed under Annex I of the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea (FAO Fisheries Department 1994).
  • Etymology

    The specific name angustirostris is from the Latin angustus (= narrow) and rostrum (= snout, beak).

    Species Citation

    Tetrapturus angustirostris Tanaka 1915, Figures and Descriptions of the Fishes of Japan 19: 324, pl. 88(285). Type locality: Funakata, Boshu Province, Sagami Sea, Japan.

    Author

    Bray, D.J. & Schultz, S. 2020

    Resources

    Atlas of Living Australia

    Shortbill Spearfish, Tetrapturus angustirostris Tanaka 1915

    References


    Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 292 pp. 106 pls. 

    Allen, G.R. & Swainston, R. 1988. The Marine Fishes of North-Western Australia. A field guide for anglers and divers. Perth, WA : Western Australian Museum vi 201 pp., 70 pls.

    Arostegui, M.C., Gaube, P. & Braun, C.D. 2019. Movement ecology and stenothermy of satellite-tagged shortbill spearfish (Tetrapturus angustirostris). Fisheries Research 215: 21-26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2019.03.005

    Collette, B.B. 2010. Reproduction and Development in Epipelagic Fishes. In: Cole, K.S. (ed.) Reproduction and Sexuality in Marine Fishes: Patterns and Processes, University of California Press, Berkeley, CA.

    Collette, B., Acero, A., Canales Ramirez, C., Carpenter, K.E., Di Natale, A., Fox, W., Miyabe, N., Montano Cruz, R., Nelson, R., Schaefer, K., Serra, R., Sun, C., Uozumi, Y. & Yanez, E. 2011. Tetrapturus angustirostris. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2011: e.T170315A6744759. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-2.RLTS.T170315A6744759.en. Downloaded on 15 May 2019.

    Collette, B.B., Carpenter, K.E., Polidoro, B.A., Juan-Jorda, M.J., Boustany, A., et al. 2011. High Value and Long Life - Double Jeopardy for Tunas and Billfishes. Science 333: 291-192.

    Collette, B.B. & Graves, J.E. 2019. Tunas and billfishes of the world. Baltimore, Maryland : John Hopkins University Press, 1-352.

    Collette, B.B., McDowell, J.R. & Graves, J.E. 2006. Phylogeny of Recent billfishes (Xiphioidei). Bulletin of Marine Science 79(3): 455-468.

    Glover, C.J.M. 1994. Family Istiophoridae. pp. 830-832, figs 734-735 in Gomon, M.F., Glover, C.J.M. & Kuiter, R.H. (eds). The Fishes of Australia's South Coast. Adelaide : State Printer 992 pp. 810 figs. 

    Gomon, M.F. 2008. Families Sphyraenidae to Centrolophidae. pp. 774-800 in Gomon, M.F., Bray, D.J. & Kuiter, R.H. (eds). Fishes of Australia's Southern Coast. Sydney : Reed New Holland 928 pp. 

    Grant, E.M. 1991. Fishes of Australia. Brisbane : EM Grant Pty Ltd 480 pp.

    Hanner, R., Floyd, R., Bernard, A., Collette, B.B. & Shivji, M. 2011. DNA barcoding of billfishes. Mitochondrial DNA 22(S1): 1-10.

    Hutchins, J.B. & Swainston, R. 1986. Sea Fishes of Southern Australia. Complete field guide for anglers and divers. Perth : Swainston Publishing 180 pp. 

    Hutchins, J.B. & Thompson, M. 1983. The Marine and Estuarine Fishes of South-western Australia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 103 pp. 345 figs.

    IGFA. 2011. International Game Fish Association World Record Game Fishes. Dania Beach, Florida.

    Kikawa, S. 1975. Synopsis of biological data on the shortbill spearfish, Tetrapturus angustirostris Tanaka, 1914 in the Indo-Pacific area. NOAA Technical Report NMFS SSRF 675(3): 39-54.

    Johnson, J.W. 2010. Fishes of the Moreton Bay Marine Park and adjacent continental shelf waters, Queensland, Australia. pp. 299-353 in Davie, P.J.F. & Phillips, J.A. Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Marine Biological Workshop, The Marine Fauna and Flora of Moreton Bay. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 54(3)

    Nakamura, I. 1985. FAO Species Catalogue. Billfishes of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of marlins, sailfishes, spearfishes, and swordfishes known to date. FAO Fisheries Synopsis No. 125, Vol. 5. Rome : FAO. 65 pp. 41 figs 

    Nakamura, I. 2001. Xiphiidae, Istiophoridae. pp. 3757-3764 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, T.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 6 pp. 3381-4218.

    Pepperell, J. 2010. Fishes of the Open Ocean a Natural History & Illustrated Guide. Sydney : University of New South Wales Press Ltd 266 pp. 

    Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1990. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 507 pp. figs. 

    Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 557 pp. figs.

    Roberts, C.D. 2015. 233 Family Istiophoridae. pp. 1639-1645 in Roberts, C.D., Stewart, A.L. & Struthers, C.D. (eds) The Fishes of New Zealand. Wellington : Te Papa Press Vol. 4 pp. 1153-1748.

    Tanaka, S. 1915. Figures and Descriptions of the Fishes of Japan, including Riukiu Islands, Bonin Islands, Formosa, Kurile Islands, Korea and southern Sakhalin. Maruzen, Tokyo Vol. 19 pp. 319–342.

    Quick Facts


    CAAB Code:37444007

    Conservation:IUCN Data Deficient

    Depth:0-200 m

    Fishing:Commercial & game fish

    Habitat:Epipelagic, oceanic

    Max Size:230 cm TL; 52 kg

    Species Image Gallery

    Species Maps

    CAAB distribution map