PBDB Taxon

Basic info	Taxonomic history	Classification	Included Taxa
Morphology	Ecology and taphonomy	External Literature Search	Age range and collections

Xiphiidae (sword fish)

Actinopteri - Istiophoriformes - Xiphiidae

Taxonomy

Xiphiidae was named by Swainson (1839). It is extant.

It was assigned to Percomorphi by Rapp (1946); to Xiphiiformes by Jordan (1963); to Scombroidea by Hay (1902), Casier (1966); to Xiphioidea by Schultz (1987); to Perciformes by Purdy et al. (2001); to Scombroidei by Fierstine and Starnes (2005); to Xiphioidei by Fierstine (2006), Fierstine and Stringer (2007); and to Istiophoriformes by Betancur et al. (2013), Nelson et al. (2016), Ebersole et al. (2024).

Subtaxa

Embalorhynchus, Glyptorhynchus, Xiphiinae, Xiphiorhynchinae, Xiphiorhynchus

Synonymy list

Year	Name and author
1839	Xiphiidae Swainson
1902	Xiphiidae Hay p. 402
1946	Xiphiidae Rapp p. 512
1963	Xiphiidae Jordan p. 681
1966	Xiphiidae Casier p. 303
1987	Xiphiidae Schultz p. 126
2001	Xiphiidae Purdy et al. p. 183
2005	Xiphiidae Fierstine and Starnes p. 281
2006	Xiphiidae Fierstine p. 439
2007	Xiphiidae Fierstine and Stringer p. 227
2013	Xiphiidae Betancur et al.
2016	Xiphiidae Nelson et al. p. 389
2024	Xiphiidae Ebersole et al. p. 14

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Rank	Name	Author
kingdom	Animalia	()
—	Bilateria
—	Eubilateria	Ax 1987
—	Deuterostomia
phylum	Chordata	Haeckel 1874
subphylum	Vertebrata
superclass	Gnathostomata
—	Osteichthyes	()
superclass	Actinopterygii	()
class	Actinopteri	()
subclass	Neopterygii	(Regan 1923)

Rank	Name	Author
—	Teleosteomorpha
—	Teleostei	(Müller 1846)
—	Teleocephala	de Pinna 1996
—	Clupeocephala	Patterson and Rosen 1977
—	Euteleostei	Rosen 1973
superorder	Acanthopterygii
—	Percomorpha
—	Ovalentaria	Smith and Near 2012
order	Istiophoriformes
family	Xiphiidae	Swainson 1839
family	Xiphiidae	Swainson 1839

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

Fm. Xiphiidae Swainson 1839 [sword fish]

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G. †Embalorhynchus Marsh 1869

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†Embalorhynchus kinnei Marsh 1869

G. †Glyptorhynchus Leriche

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†Glyptorhynchus compressus Leriche 1936

†Glyptorhynchus triangulus Robba 1970

Subfm. Xiphiinae Swainson 1839

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G. †Rotundorhynchus Monsch 2004

†Rotundorhynchus brittanicus Monsch 2004

G. †Tamesichthys Casier 1966

†Tamesichthys decipiens Casier 1966

G. Xiphias Linnaeus 1758 [sword fish]

Xiphias gladius Linnaeus 1758

Invalid names: Xiphias delfortrieri Lawley 1876 [synonym]

†Xiphias radiata Clark 1895

Invalid names: Istiophorini Lutken 1875 [empty], Xiphiorhynchini Regan 1909 [empty]

Subfm. †Xiphiorhynchinae Regan 1909

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G. †Thalattorhynchus Schultz 1987

†Thalattorhynchus austriacus Schultz 1987

G. †Xiphiorhynchus Van Beneden 1871

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†Xiphiorhynchus aegyptiacus Weiler 1929

†Xiphiorhynchus courcelli Arambourg 1927

†Xiphiorhynchus elegans Van Beneden 1871

†Xiphiorhynchus eocaenicus Woodward 1901

†Xiphiorhynchus homalorhamphus Cope 1869

†Xiphiorhynchus hungaricus Weiler 1943

†Xiphiorhynchus kimblalocki Fierstine and Applegate 1974

†Xiphiorhynchus parvus Casier 1966

†Xiphiorhynchus rotundus Monsch et al. 2005

†Xiphiorhynchus rupeliensis Leriche 1909

Diagnosis

No diagnoses are available

Measurements

No measurements are available

Composition:

phosphaticsubp

Environment:

marinesubp

Locomotion:

actively mobilec

Created:

2004-08-17 14:52:40

Modified:

2009-07-20 23:50:42

Source: c = class, subp = subphylum

Reference: Carroll 1988

Age range

Maximum range based only on fossils: base of the Thanetian to the top of the Gelasian or 59.24000 to 1.80000 Ma
Minimum age of oldest fossil (stem group age): 56.0 Ma

Collections (31 total)

Time interval	Ma	Country or state	Original ID and collection number
Thanetian	59.24 - 56.0	USA (Maryland)	Ischyrhiza radiata (84045)
Early/Lower Eocene	56.0 - 48.07	United Kingdom (England)	Xiphiidae indet. (38950)
Ypresian	56.0 - 48.07	United Kingdom	Rotundorhynchus brittanicus, Tamesichthys decipiens (215472)
Ypresian	56.0 - 48.07	Belgium	Glyptorhynchus bruxelliensis, Glyptorhynchus sp., Glyptorhynchus compressus (219001)
Ypresian	56.0 - 48.07	United Kingdom (England)	Xiphiorhynchus sp., Tamesichthys decipens, Xiphiorhynchus parvus (13299)
Lutetian	48.07 - 41.03	United Kingdom (England)	Xiphiorhynchus sp. (41888 41992)
Lutetian - Bartonian	48.07 - 37.71	Antarctica (Seymour Island)	Xiphiorhynchus sp. (53666)
Bartonian	41.03 - 37.71	USA (North Carolina)	Xiphiorhynchus antiquus (5387)
Bartonian	41.03 - 37.71	USA (Mississippi)	Xiphiorhynchus eocaenicus (61249)
Priabonian	37.71 - 33.9	Kazakhstan	Xiphias sp. (113118)
Priabonian	37.71 - 33.9	USA (Louisiana)	Xiphiorhynchus sp., Xiphiorhynchus kimblalocki (75638)
Rupelian	33.9 - 27.3	USA (Alabama)	Xiphiorhynchus sp., Xiphiorhynchus kimblalocki (235364)
Chattian	27.3 - 23.04	Australia (Victoria)	Xiphias sp. (48647)
Chattian	27.3 - 23.04	USA (South Carolina)	Xiphiorhynchus aegyptiacus (211540) Xiphiorhynchus rotundus (45781)
Badenian	13.82 - 12.8	Austria	Thalattorhynchus austriacus (186659)
Tortonian	11.63 - 7.246	Italy	Melanonus triangulus (178120 187504)
Late/Upper Miocene	11.63 - 5.333	Peru (Ica)	Xiphiidae indet. (45487)
Tortonian - Messinian	11.63 - 5.333	Peru	Xiphiorhynchus sp. (46083)
Messinian	7.246 - 5.333	Chile	Xiphiidae indet. (154642)
Messinian	7.246 - 5.333	Algeria (Oran)	Xiphiorhynchus courcelli (59256)
Messinian	7.246 - 5.333	Peru	Xiphiidae indet. (13079)
Messinian	7.246 - 5.333	Algeria	Xiphiorhynchus courcelli (186631)
Zanclean	5.333 - 3.6	South Africa	Xiphiidae indet. (100313)
Zanclean	5.333 - 3.6	Italy	Xiphias gladius (210256)
Zanclean	5.333 - 3.6	USA (North Carolina)	Xiphias gladius (52582)
Pliocene	5.333 - 2.58	Italy	Xiphias delfortrierii (96767)
Piacenzian - Gelasian	3.6 - 1.8	Italy	Xiphias gladius (57058)
Gelasian	2.58 - 1.8	Italy (Bologna)	Xiphias gladius (186574)