Indo-Pacific sailfish: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the Indo-Pacific sailfish lives – recorded in 33 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Istiophorus platypterus
Group	Bony fish
Status	Vulnerable (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	33 countries
Continents	Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, South America
Class	Ray-finned fish
Order	Istiophoriformes
Family	Istiophoridae

Where does the Indo-Pacific sailfish live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the Indo-Pacific sailfish in 33 countries and territories across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania and South America. Wikidata gives its range as: Brazil.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the Indo-Pacific sailfish endangered?

The Indo-Pacific sailfish’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Vulnerable” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the Indo-Pacific sailfish?

The Indo-Pacific sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus) is a ray-finned fish in the order Istiophoriformes and the family Istiophoridae, genus Istiophorus. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the Indo-Pacific sailfish

The Indo-Pacific sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus) is a sailfish native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans and is naturalized in the Atlantic where it has entered the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal as a Lessepsian migrant. It is dark blue on top, brown-blue laterally, silvery white underbelly; upper jaw elongated in the form of a spear; first dorsal fin greatly enlarged in the form of a sail, with many black cones, its front squared off, highest at its midpoint; pelvic fins very narrow, reaching almost to the anus; body covered with embedded scales, blunt at end; lateral line curved above pectoral fin, then straight to base of tail. They have a large and sharp bill, which they use for hunting. They feed on tuna and mackerel, some of the fastest fish in the ocean. Most authorities only recognise a single species of sailfish, I. platypterus.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Indo-Pacific sailfish (revision 1350549261), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q694527 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).