#striped marlin

[zinyli]

Fish february first 5 days :DD

[marine-gifs]

A striped marlin. From Blue Planet - Open Ocean (2001).

[fishstims]

brittany.ilardi via laventanadivecenter on instagram

[i-give-you-a-fish]

I am a fisheries biologist. But somedays, I question why I didn’t go a more traditional route and grow up to become a sugar baby, or a finance bro.

Please give me a fish so glorious, I never question my career path again.

Huge fan of the patterns on this guy. The stripes, the contrast, nobody’s doing it like him

You get a Striped Marlin

Kajikia audax

[sitting-on-me-bum]

The Orchestra And Its Conductor

A bait ball of this size is a mesmerizing showcase of rhythm, lightning reflexes, and collaboration, all without central intelligence. Tightening into a compact mass to minimize volume, it can disperse and surround you in a split second as predators charge from the opposite side.

By Manuel Castellanos Raboso

The Siena International Photo Awards

[wildandmoody]

Juuust in the nick of time for the end of Mermay, MerMichael has found a moonstone necklace! Lucky for him!

His fish half is based on the striped marlin, a fish that's capable of making sharp turns at high speeds, as well as "flashing" the white stripes of its body when hunting or excited.

[click for betta quality]

[randomanimaloftheday]

Day 295#: Striped Marlin

Today's animal of the day is the Striped Marlin (Kajikia audax)!

Photo credit: Kellon Spencer

This species of marlin can be found in tropical and temperate oceans around the world. On average, these giant fish grow to around 9.5 ft in length, but some exceptionally large individuals have been measured to be around 13.8 ft long! Females, on average, tend to be a bit larger than males. As their name suggests, these large predatory fish have a series of stripes that run down their bodies. They actually possess special cells that can contract and expand in order to change the stripes from a bluish color to a purplish one when they are excited.

Photo credit: Xavier Rufray

Striped marlins are epipelagic, meaning that they live a good distance away from the shore in the open ocean, but stick close to the surface of the water. Like the Atlantic blue marlin, which I covered on day 164#, these fish are apex predators and use their long, sharp bills to slice and stun prey. Their favorite prey seems to be sardines, though they've also been observed hunting mackerel, small tunas, and various species of squid. The streamlined bodies and powerful tails of these marlins allow them to reach speeds of over 50 mph! Meanwhile, their fins and sails help them to steer and make incredibly sharp turns while chasing after prey.

Photo credit: laurreid on iNaturalist

Sadly, due to their impressive size, speed, and ability to leap high out of the water, the striped marlin has become quite popular with sports fishermen, both for the thrill of the hunt and their meat. While this species is currently considered of least concern by the IUCN, billfish populations around the world have begun to rapidly decline due to overfishing. Thankfully, at least in the United States, this species is protected by the Billfish Conservation Act of 2012, which prohibits the possession or sale of billfish and/or products made from them. The only places exempt from this law are Hawaii and other Pacific Insular Vessels. Unfortunately, this ban has not stopped this species from becoming scarce in other parts of the world, such as the Western and Central North regions of the Pacific Ocean.

[meltingmutt]

some fish + color studies :3

my fav def ended up being the catfish

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