Atlantic blue marlin
Scientific name: Makaira nigricans Lacepède, 1802
Overview
The Atlantic blue marlin is a species of marlin endemic to the Atlantic Ocean. It is closely related to, and usually considered conspecific with, the Indo-Pacific blue marlin, then simply called blue marlin. Some authorities consider both species distinct. Blue marlin are distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean. It is a bluewater fish that spends the majority of its life in the open sea far from land.
From the Wikipedia article “Atlantic blue marlin”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Conservation status
Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, as recorded on Wikidata, citing The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022.2.
Where it lives
Common names
Also known in English as blue marlin.
Names in other languages (10)
- Arabic
- مرلين أزرق أطلسي
- Chinese
- 丁挽, 大西洋藍槍魚, 油旗魚, 鐵皮, 黑皮仔, 黑皮旗魚
- French
- Empereur, Empereur Bleu, Makaire bleu, makaire bleu de l'Atlantique, Marlin Bleu
- German
- Atlantischer Blauer Marlin, blauer Marlin
- Indonesian
- Setuhuk biru atlantik
- Japanese
- クロカジキ, ニシクロカジキ
- Persian
- نیزهماهی آبیرنگ اطلس
- Portuguese
- Marlim-azul
- Russian
- Атлантический голубой марлин, Голубой (синий) атлантический марлин
- Spanish
- marlin azul, Marlín Azul, Marlin Negro, Merlin Rayado, Pez Zuncho, Picudo Blanco
Related animals
Sources
-
Catalogue of Life — scientific name, classification, common names.
Version 2026-09-11, CC BY 4.0.
This species in the Catalogue of Life.
Citation
Bánki, O., Roskov, Y., Döring, M., Ower, G., Hernández Robles, D. R., Plata Corredor, C. A., Stjernegaard Jeppesen, T., Örn, A., Pape, T., Hobern, D., Garnett, S., Little, H., DeWalt, R. E., Miller, J., Orrell, T., Aalbu, R., Abbott, J., Aedo, C., Aescht, E., et al. (2026). Catalogue of Life (Version 2026-09-11). Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgz5n Source database: FishBase.
- GBIF — species page and recorded occurrences.
- Wikidata — conservation status, names in other languages. Q882668, CC0 1.0.
- Wikipedia — overview, from the article “Atlantic blue marlin”, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photo — NOAA, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
- Range map — Connormah, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
Last updated: 4 October 2026