Habitat:
Description:
Physical Adaptations:
Behavioral Adaptations:
Diet:
Learned Behaviors:
Instincts:
- Sailfish are saltwater fish residing in warm and temperate ocean waters.
Description:
- It is a fish.
- The sailfish is between 6 to 11 feet long.
- The sailfish will weigh between 120 to 220 pounds.
- They are blue to gray in color with white underbellies.
- They have an upper jaw that juts out well beyond their lower jaw and forms a distinctive spear.
- Their dorsal fins resemble sails not only because they run almost the full length of their bodies, but also because their height is considerably greater than the thickness of their bodies. They also have a second, smaller dorsal fin and two anal fins. Fins are typically a blackish-blue color.
- It has a dark blue dorsal fin that is shaped like a sail.
- Female sailfish is larger then the male .
- Its upper jaw is twice as long as it's lower jaw.
- Sailfish are cold-blooded.
Physical Adaptations:
- They've also been observed using their long, sharp bills to stun and skewer their prey.
- They have gills which allows them to take oxygen from the water.
- Sailfish have several fins for swimming. They use some of their fins to propel themselves through the water and others to steer the body as they swim.
- Sailfish have a stream-lined body. They are typically long and narrow, which reduces water resistance when they swim.
- They are most easily distinguished by their oversize dorsal fin, which is used to corral prey and has the appearance of a sail when the fish cruise on the surface.
Behavioral Adaptations:
- The fastest fish in the ocean, sailfish can reach speeds of 68 miles per hour.
- Divers have reported seeing several sailfish work together to corral their prey, using their high fins to create a wall that keeps the smaller fish from escaping, as well as scaring them into smaller, denser groups.
- Scientists have also photographed them hunting in groups.
- Sailfish usually raise their sails when they are excited or swimming on the surface.
- These fish hunt in groups, driving schools of smaller fish, such as sardines, toward the surface. Then each sailfish takes a stab at the prey.
- Sailfish lay eggs in the early spring. A female might have 4.8 million eggs in one spawning.
- They undergo color changes that are controlled by their nervous system and happen quickly. When excited, sailfish sport a purple/black back and iridescent blue accents on the tips of their fins and various other parts of their anatomy, including dots on their large dorsal and vertical stripes along their sides. By contrast, the fish turn copper as they tire, reaching a dull brown when exhausted.
Diet:
- They are found near the ocean surface usually far from land feeding on schools of smaller fish like sardines and anchovies, which they often shepherd with their sails, making them easy prey. They also feast on squid and octopus.
Learned Behaviors:
- Sailfish learn how to catch fish by watching others.
Instincts:
- Sailfish are born knowing how to swim.
- Juvenile sailfish have an innate ability to recognize predators. This ability is not learned, but instead is encoded in their genes.