A Fossil Skull of the Extant Blue Marlin (Makaira nigricans Lacepe`de, 1802) from the Late Miocene of Orange County, California

A nearly complete fossil skull, including the rostrum, of blue marlin, Makaira nigricans Lacepe`de, 1802 (Perciformes: Xiphioidei: Istiophoridae), was collected from the Oso Member (latest Miocene) of the Capistrano Formation, Mission Viejo, Orange County, California. The specimen is compared with extant and fossil istiophorids, and 19 of its 20 morphological variables are within the range of values observed for extant M. nigricans, whereas only 13 or less variables are within the observed range of other extant istiophorids. Because extant M. nigricans usually inhabits a water column with a height of about 200 m or more and is the most tropical of all xiphioid species, its presence supports the hypotheses that the Oso Member was deposited at upper bathyal depths or greater and that the coastal paleoclimate of southern California was warmer during the late Miocene than at present

The Paleontology of Billfish - The State of the Art

The major osteological features are described for living billfishes. All billfish remains are reviewed critically and some questionable forms are placed in Xiphioidei Incertae Sedis (uncertain status). The remaining xiphioids are placed into three families: Istiophoridae, Xiphiidae, and Xiphiorhynchidae. A new undescribed xiphiid from Mississippi shows that the billfish lineages must have diverged prior to the Eocene. Areas of research are suggested that will help place the paleontological studies on a more secure foundation

A New Marlin, \u3ci\u3eMakaira panamensis\u3c/i\u3e, from the Late Miocene of Panama

Makaira panamensis new sp. is described from a single neurocranium found in the Chagres Sandstone (Late Miocene) of the Atlantic coast of Panama. The new species is closely related to and possibly ancestral to the extant M. indica (black marlin) and M. nigricans (blue marlin). It differs from both by possessing a triangular rather than elongate basioccipital foramen, large nutrient canals in the rostrum and probably a more elongate orbit. The fossil is compared to all known fossil Istiophorids as well as to the living marlins. It is suggested that the black marlin is a more recent derivative (than the blue marlin) that was unable to thrive in the Atlantic Ocean because of a temperature barrier

Makaira SP., CF. M. Nigricans Lacepede, 1802 (Teleostei: Perciformes: Istiophoridae) From the Eastover Formation, Late Miocene, Virginia, and a Reexamination of Istiophorus Calvertensis Berry, 1917

An incomplete, disarticulated skull (USNM 375733) is described and referred to Makaira sp., d. M. nigricalls, and a rostrum, tIstiophonls call\u27ertensis Berry. 1917 (USNM 9344. holotype). is re-identified as IstiopllOrus sp., cf. I. platypterus. Both specimens are from the Eastover Formation (early late Miocene, Virginia) and are the oldest records in. deposits bordering the western North Atlantic Ocean. Istioplwrus sp.. cf. I. p/atvpterus (= tlstiophorus ca/vertensls ) IS the oldest record of the specIes. Based on ecological requirements of Recent species. the prescnce of Istiophorus sp., cL I. p/arypterus and Makaira sp., cf. M. nigricans in the Eastover Formation indicates that deep, warm water probably eXisted at or near the collection sites for at least part of the year