In nature there is a lot of surprising, sometimes even fantastic. Northern lights, salt caves, lakes in the craters of volcanoes, perfectly clear symmetry of plants and insects, incredible mechanisms of protection and masking of animals and many other mysterious phenomena amaze the imagination. For example, the world's fastest fish lives in the oceans. No land animal, not even a cheetah, can compete with her.
Swordfish
Furrows the waters of the Indian, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans at a speed close to 125 km / h. This means that she can afford to overtake the car! Experts disagree about which fish is the fastest.
The swordsman has a characteristic jaw in the form of a pointed sword up to one and a half meters long and a crescent tail. Many scientists believe that he is the fastest fish on Earth. His body in length (without a nose-sword) reaches 4 m, it is without scales, but covered with a little rough skin. The weight of the fish is 350-400 kg, and it is so strong that it can even attack a shark. Color - gray-blue with various shades. Having very tasty meat, the fastest fish in the world is an object of active fishing.
Sailboat
This predator got its name for the large dorsal fin, which in a straightened state in appearance is very similar to a sail. This amazing fin reaches a height of one and a half meters. The sailboat spreads it during sharp turns, in case of fright or during excitement. This fish lives in the Pacific and Indian oceans. It feeds on sardines, mackerel, anchovies, crustaceans and other trifles. During spawning, nearly 100 million caviar are tossed, a significant part of which goes to feed other inhabitants of the deep sea.
This fish is quite large: it grows more than 3 m in length and can weigh up to 100 kg. Having a streamlined elongated body with special grooves that significantly reduce friction against water, the sailboat is capable of developing tremendous speed - over 105 km / h! Therefore, the sailboat rightfully shares the title "fastest fish in the world" with swordfish. It is a welcome trophy of a fisherman, but the law requires the release of a sailboat after fishing, so the interest in this fish is mainly sports.
Marlin
He also claims to be the fastest fish. There are blue or blue, black, striped and white marlin. It is known that black marlin is able to develop a speed just huge, exceeding 95 km / h.
Marlins inhabit all the oceans (except the Arctic). Together they hunt small fish. Several predators push the school of sardines to the surface of the water, and the rest, jumping and falling back into the sea, jam the fish. A herd of 9-12 marlin per hour can catch a couple of tons of sardines. This large fish has an average body length of 3-4 m, but there have been cases of catching marlin 5 m long and weighing more than 500 kg. Due to the spear-like elongated nose, these fish are sometimes identified with swordsmen, but this is a mistake.
Other sprinters
Wahu fish, like marlin, can be carried at a speed of more than 90-95 km / h. Therefore, some sources also claim that wahu is the fastest fish in the world. It is found everywhere in warm and temperate waters. The body has a thin, well streamlined, bluish-silver hue, with very beautiful blue stripes. Interestingly, after the death of Wahoo, these bands disappear. The length of the body is on average equal to or slightly more than 2 m. This fish can weigh more than 80 kg. It hunts smaller fish, usually alone. Very tasty fish. It is interesting both for industrial trapping and sport fishing.
Tuna are also fast swimmers. They are able to reach speeds of over 70 km / h. Bluefin tuna can reach a length of 3 m and weigh 150 kg. The habitat of this fish is very wide. Tuna move in schools, feed on small animals. They are one of the most valuable and expensive commercial fish. Their meat contains a record amount of protein, phosphorus and vitamins. For this, he is even called sea veal.
Another fish is able to develop an incredibly high speed in the pursuit of prey. This is a shark. She is just the perfect predator. A streamlined body shape in the form of a torpedo allows her to develop speeds above 62-65 km / h. The shark's mouth is full of sharp teeth, which are constantly updated throughout life. The length of the largest whale shark reaches 20 m, and it weighs up to 14 tons.
A few more champions
Four-winged flying fish. Accelerates to speeds above 53 km / h. A characteristic feature is the presence of large pectoral and small posterior fins, in shape resembling aircraft wings. The color is blue-gray. It grows in length up to half a meter. This fast fish has very tasty meat, therefore it is an object of fishing. It lives in the warm waters of all four oceans. A distinctive feature is the ability to plan above the water surface for 30-40 seconds with a flight range of up to 200-300 meters. Flying fish feed on plankton and mollusks.
Atlantic Tarpon - a large predatory fish of the Atlantic Ocean, which cuts through the water depths at a speed of 46-48 km / h. The average length is 2 meters, the tarpon weighs an average of up to 50 kg. Tarpones more than 2 m long and weighing about 150 kg were found in nature. Externally, the fish looks like a big herring. The forward jaw gives it an aggressive look. Due to the scales of a pronounced silver shade, it is called the silver king. Tarpon females are very prolific, up to 12 million eggs are spawned during the breeding season. This fish is a welcome trophy for sports fishing, but its meat, unfortunately, is tasteless.