Swordfish
Xiphias gladius Linnaeus, 1758
The swordfish (Xiphias gladius) is a bony fish in the family Xiphiidae, within the order Carangiformes and the class Teleostei. Its scientific name was given by Linnaeus, 1758, and it is also called Shutome, Pirapucu, Broadbill, Swordfish sucker and Atlantic swordfish.
Quick facts about the swordfish
The global IUCN Red List assessment lists the swordfish as Near Threatened (NT), which is not an IUCN threatened category.
- Weight
- up to 650 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- 3 m – 4.55 msrc for Length
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Near Threatened (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the swordfish?
Photos of the swordfish
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the swordfish live?
Not recorded
What is the swordfish?
The swordfish (Xiphias gladius), also known as the broadbill in some countries, are large, highly migratory predatory fish characterized by a long, flat, sword-like, pointed bill. They are the sole member of the family Xiphiidae. They are a popular sport fish of the billfish category. Swordfish are elongated, round-bodied, and lose all teeth and scales by adulthood. These fish are found widely in tropical and temperate parts of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, and can typically be found from near the surface to a depth of 550 m (1,800 ft), and exceptionally up to depths of 2,878 m (9,442 ft). They commonly reach 3 m (10 ft) in length, and the maximum reported is 4.55 m (14 ft 11 in) in length and 650 kg (1,430 lb) in weight.
From the Wikipedia article “Swordfish” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Swordfish&oldid=1380373339), 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 swordfish endangered?
The swordfish is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List: it is close to qualifying as threatened.
- 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 Near Threatened species.
How is the swordfish classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classTeleostei
- orderCarangiformes
- familyXiphiidae
- genusXiphias
- SpeciesXiphias gladius Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms Phaethonichthys tuberculatus, Tetrapterus imperator, Tetrapturus imperator, Xiphasia gladius, Xiphias estara, Xiphias gladius estara, Xiphias imperator, Xiphias kleinii, Xiphias rondeletii, Xiphias rondeletti, Xiphias thermaicus, Xyphias gladius
Other names and names in other languages (112)
- Atlantic swordfishEnglish
- BroadbillEnglish
- BroadbillEnglish
- Broadbill swordfishEnglish
- Broadbill swordfishEnglish
- PirapucuEnglish
- ShutomeEnglish
- Swordfish suckerEnglish
- SwaardvisAfrikaans
- ﻒﻴﺳﻮﺑﺃArabic
- أبو سيفArabic
- SangusuArabic
- pexe espadaAsturian
- DugsoBikol
- emperadorCatalan
- peix espasaCatalan
- Pesciu spadaCorsican
- mečoun obecnýCzech
- Pysgod CleddyfWelsh
- pysgodyn cleddyfWelsh
- svaerdfiskDanish
- SværdfiskDanish
- SchwertfischGerman
- ΞιφίαςGreek
- ΞιφιόςGreek
- EspadaSpanish
- Aja paraSpanish
- AlbacoraSpanish
- Chichi spadaSpanish
- EspardarteSpanish
- pez espadaSpanish
- mõõkkalaEstonian
- ezpata-arrainBasque
- HatalikofiEwe
- miekkakalaFinnish
- saku vorowaqaFijian
- SvørðfiskurFaroese
- espadonFrench
- EspadronFrench
- Poisson épéeFrench
- Poisson Porte-épéeFrench
- colgánScottish Gaelic
- peixe espadaGalician
- A'uHawaiian
- A'u kuHawaiian
- דג החרבHebrew
- MalasugiHiligaynon
- SibinganHiligaynon
- IglunCroatian
- KardhalHungarian
- sverðfiskurIcelandic
- PegadorItalian
- Pesce sorzoItalian
- pesce spadaItalian
- Pesse peteneItalian
- Pisci signuriItalian
- pisci spadaItalian
- Pisci spataItalian
- Spada rossaItalian
- SpadopsaroItalian
- SparaganaciItalian
- メカジキJapanese
- DakudaJapanese
- MedaraJapanese
- MekaJapanese
- MekajikiJapanese
- 황새치Korean
- durklažuvėLithuanian
- ZobenzivsLatvian
- LokjanMarshallese
- PaeaMāori
- kinisku'nejMi'kmaw
- SoventoMaltese
- तदमासाMarathi
- sverdfiskNorwegian Bokmål
- zwaardvisDutch
- ZwaardvfischDutch
- sverdfiskNorwegian Nynorsk
- sverdfiskNorwegian
- BalaoPapiamento
- Balau toniniPapiamento
- MeluisPalauan
- miecznikPolish
- ryba mieczPolish
- wlócznikPolish
- włócznikPolish
- agulhaPortuguese
- AguilhãoPortuguese
- AgulhaoPortuguese
- AgulhãoPortuguese
- EspadãoPortuguese
- espadartePortuguese
- Espadarte-macaPortuguese
- Espadarte-mecaPortuguese
- PirapicuPortuguese
- Pește spadăRomanian
- сабленкаRussian
- саблянкаRussian
- Меч-рыбаRussian
- mech-rybaRussian
- mečaricaSlovenian
- MeèaricaSlovenian
- svärdfiskSwedish
- కట్టిచెపుాTelugu
- ปลากระโทงแทงดาบThai
- kilic baligiTurkish
- kılıç balığıTurkish
- Te sakulaTuvalu
- Риба-мечUkrainian
- меч-рибаUkrainian
- Риба-меч звичайнаUkrainian
- 劍旗魚Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the swordfish
Other species in the same genus Xiphias.
CompareSwordfish vs Xiphias guebucuSwordfish vs Xiphias hastatumSwordfish vs Xiphias makairaSwordfish vs Xiphias notistium
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 swordfish?
The swordfish is a bony fish in the family Xiphiidae and the order Carangiformes.
What is the scientific name of the swordfish?
The scientific name of the swordfish is Xiphias gladius, in the genus Xiphias.
Who named the swordfish and when?
The swordfish was named by Linnaeus, 1758.
Is the swordfish endangered?
No. The global IUCN Red List assessment lists the swordfish as Near Threatened (NT), which is not an IUCN threatened category.
What are other names for the swordfish?
Other English names for the swordfish are Shutome, Pirapucu, Broadbill, Swordfish sucker and Atlantic swordfish.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. 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). Swordfish (Xiphias gladius). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/swordfish
“Swordfish (Xiphias gladius).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/swordfish.
@misc{swordfish_2026,
title = {Swordfish (Xiphias gladius)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/swordfish},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}