Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Xiphias gladius
pez espada, Swordfish
Size> Grows to lengths of at least 5 m.
Habitat: Open-ocean fish, often seen swimming lazily at surface.
Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Teleostei
Order
Carangiformes
Family
Xiphiidae
Genus
Xiphias
Species
gladius
Taxon category: Accepted
Syn.: Phaethonichthys tuberculatus Nichols, 1923, Tetrapterus imperator (Bloch & Schneider, 1801), Xiphasia gladius (Linnaeus, 1758) (misspelling), Xiphias estara Phillipps, 1932, Xiphias gladius estara Phillipps, 1932, Xiphias imperator Bloch & Schneider, 1801, Xiphias rondeletti Leach, 1818, Xiphias thermaicus Serbetis, 1951, fide Appeltans et al. (2010)
Origin: Native
Distribution: Tropical and subtropical waters; in the eastern Pacific, from Oregon to Talcahuano, Chile, and Galapagos.
- Grove, J.S. Lavenberg, R.J. (1997) The Fishes of the Galapagos Islands. Stanford University Press, Stanford California. 862 pp.
- Appeltans, W. Bouchet, P., Boxshall, G.A., Fauchald, K., Gordon, D.P., Hoeksema, B.W., Poore, G.C.B., van Soest, R.W.M., Stöhr, S., Walter, T.C., Costello, M.J. (eds.) (2010) World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). Available online at http://www.marinespecies.org.
- McCosker, J.E. Rosenblatt, R.H. (2010) The fishes of the Galápagos Archipelago: an update. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sc., Ser. 4, vol. 61, Suppl. II, no. 11: 167-195.
- Constant, P. (2007) Marine Life of the Galapagos. The Diver's guide to Fishes, Whales, Dolphins and marine Invertebrates, 307 pp.
- IUCN (2023) The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2022-2 Https://www.iucnredlist.org
You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.
This page should be cited as follows:
"Galapagos Species Database, Xiphias gladius", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=14055/1000. Accessed 26 June 2025.