Indo-Pacific sailfish
Istiophorus platypterus (Shaw, 1792)
The indo-pacific sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus) is a bony fish in the family Istiophoridae, order Carangiformes. Its scientific name carries the authority (Shaw, 1792), and it belongs to the genus Istiophorus within the class Teleostei.
Quick facts about the indo-pacific sailfish
Other English names for it include Sailfish, Bayonet-fish, Bayonet fish, Pacific sailfish and Atlantic sailfish. The IUCN Red List global assessment lists it as Vulnerable (VU), a threatened category.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the indo-pacific sailfish
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the indo-pacific sailfish live?
Not recorded
What is 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.
It is theorized by marine biologists that the 'sail' (dorsal fin array) of the sailfish may serve the purpose of a cooling and heating system for this fish; this due to a network of a large number of blood vessels found in the sail and because of "sail-raising" behaviour exhibited by the sailfish at or near the surface waters after or before high-speed bursts.
The IUCN recognizes this species as the cosmopolitan sailfish, where FishBase recognizes two species.
From the Wikipedia article “Indo-Pacific sailfish” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Indo-Pacific_sailfish&oldid=1350549261), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the indo-pacific sailfish endangered?
The indo-pacific sailfish is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Vulnerable species. What the categories mean.
How is the indo-pacific sailfish classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classTeleostei
- orderCarangiformes
- familyIstiophoridae
- genusIstiophorus
- SpeciesIstiophorus platypterus (Shaw, 1792)
Synonyms Histiophorus ancipitirostris, Histiophorus dubius, Histiophorus gladius, Histiophorus gracilirostris, Histiophorus immaculatus, Histiophorus indicus, Histiophorus magnioci, Histiophorus orientalis, Istiophorus amarui, Istiophorus brookei, Istiophorus dubius, Istiophorus eriquius, Istiophorus gladifer, Istiophorus gladius, Istiophorus gladius greyi, Istiophorus gladus, Istiophorus greyi, Istiophorus greyii, Istiophorus immaculatus, Istiophorus japonicus, Istiophorus ludibundus, Istiophorus orientalis, Istiophorus triactis, Scomber gladius, Xiphias platypterus, Xiphias velifer
Other names and names in other languages (60)
- Atlantic sailfishEnglish
- Bayonet fishEnglish
- Bayonet-fishEnglish
- Pacific sailfishEnglish
- SailfishEnglish
- SailfishEnglish
- سمك الشراع الهندي باسيفيكيArabic
- plachetník širokoploutvýCzech
- Pysgod HwyliogWelsh
- pysgodyn hwyliogWelsh
- Pacifisk sejlfiskDanish
- FächerfischGerman
- Indopazifischer FächerfischGerman
- pez velaSpanish
- aguja de abanicoSpanish
- Pez vela del AtlánticoSpanish
- Pez vela del PacíficoSpanish
- Pez VeloSpanish
- Picudo BanderónSpanish
- PurjekalaFinnish
- AtlantinpurjekalaFinnish
- saku vorowaqaFijian
- VoilierFrench
- Empereur ÉventailFrench
- Empereur l'éventailFrench
- Espadon VoilierFrench
- Poisson-voilierFrench
- Voilier de l'AtlantiqueFrench
- voilier indo-pacifiqueFrench
- MalasugiHiligaynon
- Pesce velaItalian
- Pesce vela atlanticoItalian
- Pesce vela Indo-PacificoItalian
- バショウカジキJapanese
- BashôkajikiJapanese
- 돛새치Korean
- 대서양돛새치Korean
- 태평양돛새치Korean
- VovorontsatraMalagasy
- तदमासाMarathi
- RayanMalay
- Pacifische zeilvisDutch
- Atlantische zeilvisDutch
- Indopacifische zeilvisDutch
- Żaglica PacyficznaPolish
- AgulhãoPortuguese
- Agulhão-bandeiraPortuguese
- Peixe-velaPortuguese
- Peixe-vela-do-AtlânticoPortuguese
- Peixe-vela-do-PacíficoPortuguese
- a'ureperay
- Атлантический парусникRussian
- Индо-тихоокеанский парусникRussian
- තලපත්Sinhala
- ha'urepeTahitian
- ปลากระโทงร่มThai
- YelkenTurkish
- Ak YelkenTurkish
- Te sakulaTuvalu
- 雨傘旗魚Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the indo-pacific sailfish
Other species in the same genus Istiophorus.
CompareIndo-Pacific sailfish vs SailfishIndo-Pacific sailfish vs Histiophorus farnelliIndo-Pacific sailfish vs Zanclurus indicus
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the indo-pacific sailfish?
The indo-pacific sailfish is a bony fish in the family Istiophoridae, order Carangiformes.
What is the scientific name of the indo-pacific sailfish?
Its scientific name is Istiophorus platypterus, placed in the genus Istiophorus.
Is the indo-pacific sailfish endangered?
The indo-pacific sailfish is listed as Vulnerable (VU) in the IUCN Red List global assessment, which is a threatened category.
Who named the indo-pacific sailfish and when?
The scientific name authority is written as (Shaw, 1792).
What other names does the indo-pacific sailfish have?
Other English names are Sailfish, Bayonet-fish, Bayonet fish, Pacific sailfish and Atlantic sailfish.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-13. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Indo-Pacific sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/indo-pacific-sailfish
“Indo-Pacific sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/indo-pacific-sailfish.
@misc{indo_pacific_sailfish_2026,
title = {Indo-Pacific sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/indo-pacific-sailfish},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-13}
}