The sword fish has a different name. Swordfish: all about the "militant" inhabitant of sea waters

More than 160 years ago, in 1856, the British Insurance Company introduced a mandatory clause in the contract for damages in the event of its attack. Until now, it remains a mystery to scientists why this creature attacks fishing boats and even large vessels with unprecedented hatred, leaving deep cracks and holes.

Or out of hostility to everything around, splashing out natural aggression, or they do not have time to stop, gaining high speed. According to one version, predatory animals confuse them with large fish. However, all assumptions have not yet found their scientific confirmation.

Unsurpassed sprinter

The swordfish is the most powerful individual on the planet, moves faster than the cheetah itself. Moreover, a terrestrial predator, meeting only air resistance, overcomes only short distances at a speed of 110 km / h. An inhabitant of the ocean depths reaches record levels that even light aircraft and birds are not capable of.

He overcomes the water column at a mark of 140 km / h, moving like this for quite a long time. Five meters long, low power consumption, only 360 Horse power- ichthyologists are perplexed, what makes it possible to move so quickly towards the goal.

Russian shipbuilder Krylov A.N., having seen a piece of a broken hull of a sailing ship in the museum, for the first time decided to calculate the power of this predator. Mathematical calculations discouraged. The 56 cm thickness of the skin suffered from a 4-ton impact.

Nature generously rewarded live torpedo. It is considered one of the fastest fish in the world. Everything about this specimen is designed to move at its maximum level, slipping through the water without encountering any resistance:

A naked, scaleless, muscular, streamlined body;
sickle tail;
A unique nose that cuts through the ocean.

real rapier

It is thanks to the latter that the animal received such an exact name. This is the only representative of its kind sword - fish. The flat, long, sword-like snout is nothing more than a modified upper jaw formed by the nasal bones.

They resemble the blade of a saber, and reaches 1/3 of the length of the entire body, about 1.5 meters. A good fatty layer at the base of the outgrowth and its flattened shape are natural shock absorbers that allow you to “maim” the metal, but not suffer yourself. Swordsmen die only if the spear is thoroughly stuck in the board.

This is not only a tool for easy gliding through the water, but also a deadly tool for food. Favorite place hunting - fish shoals. One has only to get there and all living things will be chopped and crippled. Then the predator will only have to swallow the prey.

Basically, swordfish feed on squid, crustaceans and small fish. They often find mutilated large relatives, including sharks and whales, although they do not feed on the latter. To do this with ease allow a huge weight and size.

Usually grow up to three meters. The largest representative, to date, stretched to 4.55.
The average weight of swordfish is about 450 kg. A large specimen of 650 kg was caught.

ray-finned appearance

Pelvic fins are absent, two dorsal fins are divided into two parts, when in most fish they are solid. The first begins immediately at the back of the head. Tall and sharp, it divides the water surface, leaving a massive foam trail. The second small perched near the tail. Shades from dark to light Brown with a blue metallic sheen adorn the back and sides, the belly is silver.

And why should she disguise herself when she herself is one of the most bloodthirsty fish. The wide mouth is devoid of teeth. Young swordtails can boast of them, but mature representatives do not. On average, life expectancy is up to 11 years. The oldest fish ever caught reached the age of 16 years. Females live longer than males.

rare organ

The adjective unique always sounds in relation to the sword fish and there is no getting around it. This creature is cold-blooded. But a specific organ settled in her head, which warms the blood flowing to the brain and eyes. Here the temperature exceeds environment at 10 -15 ° C. This greatly increases the reaction speed and allows you to hunt productively in deeper covers.

home for the predator

You can meet them in the warm tropical and subtropical waters of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans. But during food migrations for feeding they move far to northern latitudes. It can exist in a cool environment, but always returns home to the winter quarters. They also met her off the coast of Iceland, in the Barents and Azov Seas.
They stay away from the shore, at a depth of 700 - 800 meters. During the day they descend to colder layers up to 3,000 meters.

Offspring

Able to breed all year round, but with the condition that the water temperature will be more than 23 degrees. Sexual maturity is reached at 4-5 years. Babies of the swordsmen are completely different from their parents, with teeth and spikes all over their bodies. They feed on plankton, trying not to go deeper than 3-4 meters.

But already at a centimeter age they feast on small fish. Grow very actively. In a year they can boast of half a meter in length. It looks like an ordinary fry, devoid of a sword. But gradually growing up to a meter, his nasal bone is extended, and his teeth fall out.

Enemies

It's hard to believe that a large predatory fish those will be found. Killer whales and black-nosed sharks attack them. But man remains the most devoted admirer of the individual. Its meat is devoid of large bones, has no specific smell and is considered a delicacy. Swordfish, a film about which was shot in 2001, became famous on the screen. The brave and indomitable temper of the predator was transferred to the main character, where he emptied secret accounts with record speed.

Video review of fish sword:

The fantastic speed with which the swordfish (lat. Xiphias gladius) swims is still a mystery to scientists.

The swordfish got its name from the highly elongated and flattened upper jaw, which is shaped like a pointed sword and is up to a third of the length of the entire fish. The torpedo-shaped body of an adult swordfish is devoid of scales, which contributes to high-speed swimming. The swordfish is a fast and active swimmer, reaching speeds of up to 130 km/h.

Adults have no teeth. Unlike marlin and sailboats, whose spear-shaped upper jaw is only of hydrodynamic significance, the "sword" of the species in question is also used to defeat prey. The fish and squid found in the stomachs of swordfish are quite often cut in two or have other marks of "sword" damage.

The fecundity of swordfish is very high - about 16 million eggs were counted in a female weighing 68 kg. Caviar spawned in the open sea is relatively large (1.5-1.8 mm) and is provided with a significant fatty subshell. Hatching larvae have a short snout, but already when they reach a length of 6-8 mm, the upper jaw begins to gradually stretch into a sword. The larvae and fry are characterized by the development of peculiar coarse scales, armed with prickly spines and arranged in longitudinal rows on the body. Unlike adult fish, juveniles have normal jaw teeth, and solid dorsal and anal fins are not divided into anterior and posterior parts.

At the very end of the Second World War, the English tanker "Barbara" was on the waters Atlantic Ocean. It was calm, calm weather. And suddenly the sailor on duty noticed that a long torpedo was rushing at great speed right into the side of the tanker, leaving behind a foam trail on the surface of the ocean. The sailor raised the alarm, but after a few moments the torpedo had already reached the target, hit the side of the tanker, but ... there was no explosion. And the "torpedo" quickly moved away from the ship, turned around and again rushed at him. It turned out that it was a swordfish. On the second attempt to ram the ship, she broke her weapon - sword, and she got stuck in the hole.

When the aggressive fish was pulled onto the deck, it turned out that the length of her sword exceeded one and a half meters, the body length was five meters, and the weight of a live torpedo was 660 kilograms.

When the swordfish rushes across the surface of the water, the ends of the triangular fins protruding above the water leave a foam trail on the water, similar to the trail of a submarine's retractable devices or a moving torpedo. And it was not for nothing that the watch sailor of the Barbara raised the alarm: the swordfish misled even more experienced sailors. During the war in 1942, six Soviet submarines moved from the Pacific Fleet to the Northern Fleet across the Pacific, Atlantic Oceans and six seas.
So, in the area of Cocos Island off the coast of Costa Rica, the commander of the S-56 submarine, Captain Lieutenant G. I. Shchedrin, also mistook a swordfish going to the boat for the periscope of an enemy submarine and was forced to evade the “attack” of the enemy.

During World War II, one of the American minelayers was patrolling off the US Pacific coast when he was attacked by a swordfish. Her attack caused such severe damage to the wooden-hulled ship that the personnel could hardly cope with the flow of water through the hole made by the swordfish. Minzag in disrepair was towed to the base.

In general, swordfish are extremely aggressive and unpredictable. What makes swordfish attack ships? Ichthyologists have not yet been able to give an exact answer. But in the history of navigation, many cases have been documented when huge swordfish went to ram not only fishing boats or boats, but also ships, and caused such great damage to their hulls that the ships sank. Therefore, sailors try to stay away from the places of accumulation of sword-like fish, and even more so in these places they do not launch small floating craft (boats, whaleboats, boats, etc.).

In 1948, a swordfish attacked the American four-masted schooner Elizabeth. The blow of the fish was so strong that it entered the ship's hull up to the very eyes. Pulling out the sword, the fish went away, and water gushed into the resulting hole, and the team had to turn on emergency pumps in order not to drown.

In November 1962, a large swordfish got into the net of a Japanese 39-ton schooner fishing for tuna in the Marshall Islands. Trying to escape from the net, the fish pierced the skin of the ship's hull. The crew's attempts to save the schooner were in vain, and the ship sank.

Already in our time, a swordfish rammed a Japanese trawler, punching such a hole in its bottom that, despite all the efforts of the sailors, the ship sank a day later.

Swordfish attacks are also dangerous for modern ships with metal hulls. So, off the coast of England, a swordfish almost sank the Leopold destroyer, breaking through the ship's steel plating 2 cm thick in three places. Divers had to be lowered overboard to close the holes.

The swordfish is so aggressive that it even attacked off the coast of Spain at a depth of 605 meters. deep-sea vehicle The Alvin with three aquanauts searching for a hydrogen bomb dropped by an American B-52 bomber in July 1967. The aquanauts saw some huge fish through the window, and the Alvin shuddered from a powerful blow. The device was urgently raised to the surface along with a piece of a sword stuck in the groove between the body of the device and the porthole mount. Miraculously, the electrical wiring of the apparatus and the glass of the porthole survived, it only cracked and gave a slight leak. The swordfish drove its "weapon" into the groove with such force that it took two hours to remove it from the hull.

Attacks on ships by swordfish were so frequent and so long ago that even 120 years ago, the British Marine Insurance Company Lloyd was forced to introduce a risk acceptance clause that takes into account "damage to the ship's hull as a result of a swordfish attack." This point was made for a reason. In 1856, the captain of the American clipper ship Dreadnought sued Lloyd for insurance compensation for damage to the insured cargo - two hundred tons of tea. The captain claimed that his clipper in the area of Ceylon was attacked by a swordfish, which pierced the copper sheathing sheet and the pine board of the hull 8 cm thick, making a hole 25 cm in size in the hull. The water that penetrated inside the hold naturally spoiled the tea. The company did not believe the clipper captain at first, but experts who examined the ship in the dock concluded that only a swordfish could make such an even, rounded hole. It was then that the company introduced a clause on damage to the ship's hull as a result of a swordfish attack.

SWORDFISH SECRET
The first acquaintance with a swordfish in humans took place in 1840, when the fisherman Figueiro from the island of Madeira caught a hitherto unknown fish on a hook from a great depth, which local fishermen immediately called simply and uncomplicatedly - swordfish. It turned out that the meat of outlandish fish has high gastronomic qualities, and therefore swordfish has become an object of commercial production everywhere. True, its fishing was associated with great risk, because the swordfish turned out to be a creature with an obstinate character and often the first to attack the fishermen and sink their ships.

Swordfish are swordfish. This separate and small group also includes marlins, sailboats, spearfish and some other fish. Their hallmark- a long and sharp protruding bony outgrowth of the upper jaw, the so-called rostrum. In swordfish it is flat-oval, in marlin and sailboats it is round. The weight of a swordfish reaches 700 kg, for marlin - a little less, the length of the sword for a swordfish is about one and a half meters.

An 842 lb swordfish caught by George Garay in 1936 near Tocopilla, Chile

During an attack, swordfish have been recorded to reach speeds of up to 140 km per hour, that is, almost three times faster than that of dolphins and sharks. It is this absolutely incredible speed that baffles ichthyologists, physicists and mechanics, in which they still remain. According to all the laws of mechanics and physics, swordfish cannot develop such speed in water. Calculations show that in order to move in water at a speed of about 140 km per hour, a body with a perfectly streamlined shape and surface and a length of five meters must have a power of 1500-2000 horsepower.

Naturally, none Living being can't have that kind of power. But here the swordfish and its relatives, not knowing about these laws of mechanics, swim in the water rather than the fastest terrestrial predator - a cheetah, capable of running at a speed of 110 km per hour, and even that speed can develop only at a short distance, pursuing its prey . More than that is not enough. But the cheetah has to overcome only air resistance, and not water, like a swordfish. Scientists are also surprised that the swordfish achieves record speeds, being content with relatively small powers of the order of 20-90 horsepower per 100 kg of live weight.

This power-to-weight ratio is comparable to the power-to-weight ratio of a light aircraft. Moreover, the swordfish develops such power for a long time. This paradox of the energy of the swordfish has long been worrying the minds of scientists who still do not understand what allows the swordfish to set speed records that not only cheetahs, but also birds and even light aircraft can envy.

The first of the scientists to show interest in the unusual abilities of the swordfish was the great Russian mathematician and shipbuilder A. N. Krylov. He happened to deal with the case when a swordfish attacked a wooden vessel and its rostrum pierced through the side of an oak barrel standing in the hold and, stuck in it, broke at the very base.

Before that, Alexei Nikolaevich had often seen traces of swordfish attacks on ships in maritime museums. For example, a curious exhibit is kept in the maritime museum in Kensington (England): a cut-out piece of sheathing along with the frame of a sailing ship of the early 19th century. A copper sheet, two-layer pine sheathing and an oak frame 56 cm thick. And all this is strung on a “skewer” of a swordfish, and its tip sticks out of the inside of the frame.

So this time Krylov decided to check everything with mathematical calculations. It turned out that the speed of the swordfish at the time of the attack was at least 90 km per hour. Such a speed at that time seemed simply unthinkable, and if it was not questioned by the scientific community, then only because of the universally recognized world authority of the academician. In the future, it turned out that the speed of 90 km per hour for swordfish is far from the limit.

Regarding the impact force of a swordfish, Krylov wrote that "the impact force of an average swordfish on the area of the tip of the nose is equal to 15 times the impact force of the heaviest two-handed sledgehammer." In the future, more accurate dynamic calculations showed that the impact force during an attack by even an average (again, only an average) swordfish reaches more than four tons.

As for the penetrating ability of the swordfish, Academician V. Shuleikin wrote in his book Essays on the Physics of the Sea that the swordfish attacked the whaling ship Fortuna, breaking through the copper plating, a seven-centimeter board under it, and an oak frame thick thirty centimeters and the bottom of a barrel of blubber, which were in the hold.

This marlin, as a result of the impact, was trapped in the safety stack of an underwater oil platform. But underwater vehicle managed to free him with a remote control. When released, the marlin was very weak, terrified and no doubt easy prey for the sharks.

In a word, the swordfish is not only dangerous predator, but also an extremely interesting object for bionic and mechanical research, because if scientists were able to reveal its secret, then this would be of great service to shipbuilders around the world.

The fantastic speed with which the swordfish (lat. Xiphias gladius) swims is still a mystery to scientists.

At the very end of World War II, the English tanker "Barbara" was sailing the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. It was calm, calm weather. And suddenly the sailor on duty noticed that a long torpedo was rushing at great speed right into the side of the tanker, leaving behind a foam trail on the surface of the ocean. The sailor raised the alarm, but after a few moments the torpedo had already reached the target, hit the side of the tanker, but ... there was no explosion. And the "torpedo" quickly moved away from the ship, turned around and again rushed at him. It turned out that it was a swordfish. During the second attempt to ram the ship, she broke her weapon - the sword, and she herself got stuck in the hole.

Already in our time, a swordfish rammed a Japanese trawler, punching such a hole in its bottom that, despite all the efforts of the sailors, the ship sank a day later.

Swordfish are so aggressive that they even attacked the American deep-sea submersible Alvin with three aquanauts off the coast of Spain at a depth of 605 meters, searching for a hydrogen bomb dropped from an American B-52 bomber in July 1967. The aquanauts saw some huge fish through the window, and the Alvin shuddered from a powerful blow. The device was urgently raised to the surface along with a piece of a sword stuck in the groove between the body of the device and the porthole mount. Miraculously, the electrical wiring of the apparatus and the glass of the porthole survived, it only cracked and gave a slight leak. The swordfish drove its "weapon" into the groove with such force that it took two hours to remove it from the hull.

Swordfish are swordfish. This separate and small group also includes marlins, sailboats, spearfish and some other fish. Their distinguishing feature is a long and sharp protruding bony outgrowth of the upper jaw, the so-called rostrum. In swordfish it is flat-oval, in marlin and sailboats it is round. The weight of a swordfish reaches 700 kg, for marlin - a little less, the length of the sword for a swordfish is about one and a half meters.

An 842 lb swordfish caught by George Garay in 1936 near Tocopilla, Chile

Naturally, no living creature can possess such power. But here the swordfish and its relatives, not knowing about these laws of mechanics, swim in the water rather than the fastest terrestrial predator - a cheetah, capable of running at a speed of 110 km per hour, and even that speed can develop only at a short distance, pursuing its prey . More than that is not enough. But the cheetah has to overcome only air resistance, and not water, like a swordfish. Scientists are also surprised that the swordfish achieves record speeds, being content with relatively small powers of the order of 20-90 horsepower per 100 kg of live weight.

This marlin, as a result of the impact, was trapped in the safety stack of an underwater oil platform. But a remote-controlled underwater vehicle managed to free him. When released, the marlin was very weak, terrified and no doubt easy prey for the sharks.

In a word, the swordfish is not only a dangerous predator, but also an extremely interesting object for bionic and mechanical research, because if scientists were able to uncover its secret, it would be of great service to shipbuilders around the world.

A report about sword fish will tell you what the sword fish eats, where it lives, and how it lives. The message about the swordfish can be used in preparation for the lesson. The story about the sword fish for children can be supplemented.

Swordfish Report

swordfish, which is also called swordfish It is a large predatory marine fish.

Swordfish is quite large, its length is about 3 meters, and some individuals reach a length of 4.55 m. The average swordfish weight is about 400 kg. Females are larger than males and live longer. The name of this unique fish reflects its unusual appearance. Her nose resembles a sword, the length of which is approximately one third of the entire body (1-1.5 meters).

The unusual nose of the swordfish easily pierces 2.5 cm thick metal and 40 cm oak board. Dynamic calculations show that the impact force of an average swordfish is over 4 tons.

The mouth of the swordfish has a lower location, the mouth is wide, going behind the eyes. Teeth grow exclusively in young individuals, mature fish completely lose their teeth. Also, young fish up to 1 meter long have spikes on the body.

The streamlined body of the fish is without scales, and its shape resembles a torpedo. At the end of the caudal peduncle, well-developed crescent-shaped lateral keels grow on both sides. The tail also has a semilunar shape. Thanks to this structure, the speed of a swordfish during an attack can reach 130 km / h.

The dorsal and lateral fins of the swordfish are not continuous, as in most fish, but are delimited by a wide gap into 2 parts. The pectoral fins of the swordfish are closer to the lower part of the body. Pelvic fins the swordsman does not.

The surface of the back of the swordfish is dark brown, but casts a dark blue, the sides are grayish brown with a blue metallic tint, the light brown belly shimmers with silver. The eyes of the fish are bright blue.

Sword fish lifespan

On average, swordfish live for about 10-12 years.

Where does swordfish live?

Swordfish is a real marine cosmopolitan that lives in the warm tropical and subtropical waters of the oceans: in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans.

Swordfish live in open ocean spaces far from the coast at a depth of about 600-800 meters, descending into the ocean to a maximum depth of 2878 meters. Swordfish is a solitary hunter, and even during mass migrations to feeding areas, predators do not gather in packs, but remain at a respectful distance, observing from 10 to 100 m of personal space.

What do swordfish eat?

Swordfish are dangerous predators. They are eating different types fish and shellfish, squid.

Sword fish breeding

Swordfish breed only in warm water at temperatures above 23 degrees.

Swordfish reaches puberty at 5-6 years of age. A female swordfish weighing about 68 kg is capable of bringing an average of 16 million eggs, and especially prolific individuals spawn up to 29 million eggs.

Spawning takes place in the open sea, the eggs are quite large, 1.5-1.8 mm in diameter, surrounded by a large fatty capsule. Swordfish eggs are pelagic, they do not sink to the bottom, but remain to develop under the surface of the water.

The born swordfish fry are significantly different in appearance from their parents. They don't have a sword yet, but their mouths are full of teeth. The dorsal and anal fins are not yet divided into parts, and the whole body is covered with rows of coarse scales with small sharp spines. At first, swordfish fry live at the very surface of the water, not sinking to a depth of more than 2-3 m, and feed mainly on zooplankton.

The predatory instinct wakes up early, and already at a length of 1 cm, swordfish fry begin to eat small species of fish. Juveniles grow quite quickly, acquiring resemblance to their parents, and by the end of 1 year of their existence, the average size of fish is 0.5 - 0.6 m, and at the age of 3 years, swordfish grows up to 1-1.2 m in length. At the age of three, most young swordtails go to the border waters of tropical latitudes, where they continue to intensively feed, grow and develop.

We hope the above information about swordfish has helped you. And you can leave your report about the sword fish through the comment form.

Family swordfish, or swordfish

Since the mode of life of all swordfish seems to be the same, we will describe it, speaking of the most common form.
swordfish(Xiphias gladius). This fish is covered not with scales, but with rough skin. The color of the dorsal surface is bright purple-blue with a brownish or reddish tint and towards the belly turns into an impure, often even dull bluish-white color, which has a beautiful silvery sheen. Fins slaty blue with a silvery sheen; the tail is painted blue-black; eyes are dark blue. The body is elongated, slightly compressed from the sides, almost round behind, the front part of the back gradually deepens from the anterior dorsal fin to the head, the upper jaw is extended into the xiphoid process. This process consists of a wide plate, gradually thinning and passing at the end into a blunt point; the edges of the plate are cutting and finely serrated. This plate, at first convex, flat and even concave towards the root, is covered with stripes at the top, and one furrow at the bottom. The anterior frontal bones, the ethmoid bone and the vomer take part in the formation of this plate. Actually, it is formed by elongated and converted jaws. The mass of the sword is cellular and consists of a series of voids connected and covered with a very dense bone mass and pierced by four tubes - channels through which nutrient vessels pass. The lower part of the mouth is not elongated; the opening of the mouth extends far beyond the large eyes. Something strange is observed in the structure of the gills, since their leaves not only lie next to each other, but are also connected with each other by transverse leaves, so that the entire surface of the gills looks more like a net than a comb. The average size of a swordfish reaches 2.5-3 m, and it weighs 150-200 kg. However, there are instances of 4 m in length, and in very rare cases, almost 5 m, the weight of which can reach 350 kg *.

* The record copy of the swordfish had a length of over 4.5 m and weighed 537 kg.

Tales of giants of even greater length and greater weight must be taken with caution. A quarter or a third of the whole length is occupied by a sword, which is a dangerous weapon used by fish with great dexterity.
The area of distribution of the swordfish has not yet been precisely determined, in any case, it is very large. In the Atlantic Ocean, it comes approximately from the Shetland Islands and south coast Newfoundland to Cape Horn and, according to Lutken, even to the Cape of Good Hope; V pacific ocean it meets from the west coast South America and Baja California, but at least as far as New Zealand, and perhaps crossing the Indian Ocean, as far as the island of St. Mauritius, where swordfish were, at any rate, observed. Further, it is constantly found in the Mediterranean Sea and sometimes goes as far east as Constantinople. According to Elian, it often even enters the Black Sea, and sometimes even the Danube*.

* Swordfish often come from mediterranean sea to Chernoe and Sea of Azov for a walk.

In summer, she also visits the Baltic Sea and occasionally comes along the western coast of Scandinavia to the North Cape. Brown Goode explains the repeated annual summer appearance of numerous swordfish off the coast of the New England States by the fact that they go there, following the herds of fish on which they feed. The assumption that they undertake these summer wanderings for spawning must be discarded.
Swordfish are among the fastest and hardiest fish in terms of their size**.

* * The swimming speed of the sword fish reaches 130 km/h and is a record for fish and other aquatic life.

Therefore, she is able to win more small fish, which, together with cuttlefish, serve as her favorite, if not her only food. In general, she may be considered harmless and cowardly, but she is very irritable, and sometimes, without any provocation, sudden fits of dangerous rage and a thirst for destruction occur to her, during which she commits excesses. This could be considered a fiction, if truthful travelers did not vouch for it many times. Among the fishermen and coastal dwellers who know the swordfish, it has become proverbial for its willingness to fight and often reckless courage. It usually appears on the surface of the sea on calm and warm days and swims calmly, moreover, it exposes part of its dorsal and caudal fins from the water. Sometimes it moves faster, dives back and forth across the surface, and amuses itself with big jumps, during which it jumps out entirely from the water and dives again, and the splash is heard far away. In European waters, especially in the Mediterranean Sea, swordfish can be observed swimming in pairs next to each other. Often you can even see them mating. Experienced New England fishermen have never seen this, and Captain Asibi assures that he has never seen two swordtails closer than 10-12 m from each other. From the mast of the ship, under favorable conditions, you can see 10-15 and even 20 individuals of these fish. When the wind rises or coolness sets in, swordtails go to the depths. According to experienced fishermen, they come to the surface when mackerels come up and also follow them into the depths. According to Thomson and Asibi, who observed the swordfish during its hunt, the predator rushes headlong into a dense herd of fish, strikes with its dangerous weapon blows right and left until it kills enough for him, and then eats the prey floating around him. Many fish are cut in half during such attacks. Asibi once gathered at the place where the sword-fish raged in front of his eyes in a herd of herring, about a quarter of a dead fish *.

* The sword is often used by swordfish to strike prey. Fish found in the stomachs of caught swordfish often have sword marks or may be cut in two.

We know very little about swordfish breeding.
When you read the descriptions of the swordfish left to us by the ancients, out of habit you attribute their stories exclusively to the realm of fantasy. But about no animal, the stories of ancient researchers turned out to be as true as about the swordfish. Far be it from me to consider all the stories of the new observers to be true. But there is no doubt that they confirmed almost without exception the data of the ancients. We must first recall these latter, and therefore we will quote them from the work of the excellent translator Gesner: “This is a very beautiful, cheerful, strong and noble fish. This fish is sometimes called by other nations in their language a warrior, or a captain, or a sea king due to its very great sword, its strength, great harm and power.Whales fear sea swordsmen as mortal enemies, although the latter are afraid of the whale called Balena, so that for fear they plunge their beak, or sword, into the mud and stand motionless. Balena, noticing such a motionless a block of wood, floats, without touching it, by.
In the Indian Ocean, this swordfish is so large that it pierces the walls with its tip, or beak. Portuguese ships one and a half palms thick. truthful scientists and famous people it was said that such a fish sometimes cuts in half with its sword a man swimming near the ship. There is no doubt that this animal has a sharp, hard and strong sword, which has great strength.
These fish are so intelligent that they are able to distinguish one from another different dialects. So, on the Lokrid coast, several Italians were once present when catching this animal, and they noticed that the swordsmen were addicted to the Greek language and were not afraid of it at all, but before Italian, on the contrary, they felt fear and swim away from there.
Fishermen are very afraid of these fish, as they enter the net and tear the net to pieces with their big and strong sword. However, sometimes, especially young specimens, are caught with a seine."

When describing the tuna, old Gesner mentions that he is very afraid of the swordfish. This is the first evidence we want to consider. Chetty emphatically denies his justice. Paul Jovius, he says, attributes the reason for the migration of tuna from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean to my fear. According to him, this sea serves as a refuge for tuna, where he escapes from the persecution of his terrible enemy. This enemy - swordfish - is so dangerous for tuna in the ocean that their herds without looking back are saved in the Mediterranean Sea. Jovius, he thinks, gives a similar story, having probably been misled by Strabo; but wherever he gets this information, it is, in any case, completely wrong.
The claim that swordfish also attack whales has been confirmed several times. But still, one must be careful to accept the data of the observer Kraua, an English navigator, since it is very likely that he is talking not about a swordfish, but about a unicorn. “One morning,” says Kraua, “during a calm that captured our ship near the Hebrides, the whole crew gathered to watch the battle between sharks, along with several swordtails on one side and a giant whale on the other. It was in the middle of summer, the weather was clear and the whale was near the ship; so we had best case for observation.
As soon as the whale's back appeared above the water, the sharks jumped several meters out of the water, rushed at the object of their hatred with terrible force and inflicted strong blows on him with their long tails; the blows were of such force that they produced a sound, as if guns were being fired at some distance. The swordfish, in turn, attacked the unfortunate whale from behind, surrounding it from all sides and injuring it everywhere, so that the poor animal had no opportunity to escape. When we lost sight of him, the water was covered with blood all around, and the torture was still going on. We had no doubt about the unconditional death of the whale. "Although, of course, this and similar observations are subject to error, nevertheless, one cannot dispute the possibility or even the likelihood that sometimes swordfish attack giant marine mammals animals and takes out his rage on them. Why, in fact, such a well-armed fish, which, with inexplicable outbursts of anger, attacks not only the ships of its pursuers, but also ships calmly going their own way, cannot sometimes attack a huge whale? These data are supported better than the stories of Kraua and other sailors, the observations of an old and experienced naval officer. Baron Lagontan watched for two hours from the deck of his frigate as, close by, one swordfish attacked a whale that dived in vain into the water. When the whale came to the surface to breathe, a swordfish immediately appeared near it "and jumped out of the water in order to plunge its sword into the whale's body in this way." Since Lagontan speaks not of a mass struggle that took place far away, which could make observation difficult, but of a duel between two animals, a struggle that took place near, his simple and artless story deserves full confidence. It should be mentioned how reliable fact that the swordfish also attacked other large animals that did not serve as food for it, and pierced them. Thus, Daniel relates that in the River Severn, not far from Worcester, a swordfish speared a bathing man and was himself caught.
Of course, the misfortunes caused by swordtails must be more frequent than is commonly thought, since most accidents remain unknown. Many travelers hardly have an idea about the way of life of these warlike animals or did not pay attention to it. About sharks, everyone recounts all sorts of horrors, although it is very difficult to be eyewitnesses or to find actual examples of this. “The swordfish,” says White Gil from the Southern Ocean, “is causing panic among our fishermen. I learned of numerous accidents caused by young swordfish. In one case, a swordfish pierced the palm of a native; the wound was round. The attacking fish took out his sword and continued on her way with impunity. Another time a native came late in the evening with a request for arnica for young man, injured by a large swordfish. Swordfish, hurrying after the rushing fish, in the heat fell into a large boat in which this young man was sitting. Both walls of the boat were pierced by a swordsman, and since the young man's knee was right along the line of impact, the swordsman pierced him not far from the joint. The sword was at least two feet long. For a few seconds the poor fellow was unconscious from pain and loss of blood; he is still lame. In two other cases, the ischium was punctured, and the femoral artery was almost completely severed. Both of the wounded finally made a full recovery. The saddest incident occurred with a girl injured by this scary fish in the thigh, - she barely escaped death: a terrible wound closed only after a month of caring treatment.
Swordsmen quite often pierce ships *.

* The reasons why swordfish attack boats and even large vessels are still unclear.

Boards containing a broken sword or a piece of a sword are exhibited in various collections. When they began to remake the British warship Leopard in 1725, in the bow, not far from the keel, they found a broken sword of our fish sticking out. This sword pierced the outer skin 2.5 cm thick and the board 7.5 cm thick, and, moreover, plunged another 11 cm into the depths of the log. In the same way, when reworking the whaling ship Fortuna, which returned from the Southern Ocean, a broken swordtail weapon was found, which not only pierced copper plating 2.5 cm thick, then a hard board 7.5 cm thick and a strong oak log 30 cm, but also the bottom of the barrel with blubber placed on the ship. The broken sword plunged into the wooden skeleton of the Priscilla ship to a depth of 45 cm. The fish hit the ship at night near the Azores, while the commander, Captain Taylor, was on deck. The shock caused by the impact not only frightened the awake sailors, but also woke the sleeping ones, who hurried out on deck. Based on these reliable cases, which, if desired, can be cited in large numbers, it is clear what extraordinary force the blow reaches, with what agility and force the deliberately not angry sword-bearer attacks the object he has chosen.
Fortunately, the enraged fish, trying to free itself, breaks off its weapon, stuck in a dense tree, and probably dies. Otherwise, it could cause much more trouble. Nevertheless, the swordsman has already made a lot of holes in the ships, and some of them completely sunk. Such an incident, Baird reports, occurred in 1871 with the small yacht Redgot, in which a company went off the coast of Massachusetts to hunt swordfish. The same thing happened in the same waters with the boat on which Pehuel-Leshe hunted: the swordfish, which was about 3 m long, being wounded, hit the boat with such force, approaching from below, "that not only the sword, but and the head. The large hole thus formed was plugged with a sin in half with a frock coat, and the person had to constantly bail out water so that the boat kept on the water until they landed on the nearest shore. But larger ships were similarly severely damaged. Brig "Tinker "with Captain Bernard, while returning from Rio de Janeiro to Richmond, on December 23, 1875, he was attacked by a swordfish to such an extent that the team clearly felt the push. A few hours later they made sure that the water had penetrated inside and that the brig had received a hole. The crew had to work all the time with pumps until the brig reached the harbour.
After the foregoing, we will not be surprised that the swordtail has already played a significant role in court. So, on December 11, 1868, in London, judges and experts examined the case of an accident that occurred thanks to our fish and led to the trial. The magnificent ship "Dreadnought", intended for trade with India, was insured against all sorts of dangers at sea. March 10, 1864, he left Colombo for London; three days later, the crew was lucky enough to catch a swordfish on a hook. But the latter, unfortunately, broke the rope, made a jump, as if he wanted to get a better look at the ship, and soon after that hit it from below. The next morning, there was water in the hold: the ship received a hole. We returned to Colombo and for the amendment the ship was taken to Kotchin. They found a relatively small hole in the bottom. The owners of Dreadnought demanded damages from the insurance company and sued because the company refused to pay under the pretext that the swordfish could not cause such damage. Aries and Bookland were invited to the case as experts. The verdict of the court was as follows: the insurance company must pay about 12,000 marks of remuneration for the extravagant attack of the swordfish.
Swordfish fishing exists as a fishery primarily in southern Italy and the eastern United States. Regarding fishing off the Italian coast, Lindeman reports: “Swordfish are caught partly in tonnars, large nets adapted for tuna fishing, partly with large nets with large loops, partly with hooks, and finally with a harpoon. The last tool, very similar to a whale harpoon, is used mainly in the Strait of Messina.The harpoon stick is 3 to 4 m long, the harpoon itself is made of iron and has a length of 20 cm, its penetration into the body of the fish is facilitated by movable hooks.The boat remains connected to the caught fish with a string 200 m long attached to harpoon." The net used in the same place, according to Tozetti, has a length of 600 to 800 m, and a width of 16 m. At each end there is a large cork float, to which is attached a bell that chimes with any movement of the net. When big fish gets tangled in the loops and, trying to free himself, sets the seine in a strong movement, then the fishermen are notified of this by the ringing of a bell and rush to take possession of the prey.

Life of animals. - M.: State publishing house of geographical literature. A. Brem. 1958

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