Swordfish

Swordfish, any individual of the spiny-finned family Xiphiidae, from tropical and sub-tropical seas, and having the upper jaw produced into a stout wedge-shaped weapon. The best known is the Common Swordfish (Xiphias gladius) common in the Mediterranean, the warmer parts of the Atlantic and the Pacific, some straying to Britain. Swordfishes feed on herrings, mackerel, and cuttlefishes. Ihe young forms differ greatly from the adult fish. [SAWFISH.]