Taxonomy and Naming
The Atlantic blue marlin is one of three species in the genus Makaira. This name is derived from the Greek word machaira, meaning "a short sword or bent dagger", and the Latin machaera, "sword". The specific epithet nigricans is Latin for "becoming black". The Atlantic blue marlin is part of the billfish family Istiophoridae and is in the perch-like order Perciformes. In addition, it is in the suborder Xiphioidei and is a member of the subclass Neopterygii, which means "new wings". It is also in the class of Actinopterygii, which includes ray-finned fishes and spiny rayed fishes, and the superclass Osteichthyes, which includes all of the bony fishes.
The Atlantic blue marlin was first described in 1802 by Bernard Germain de Lacépède. Some other names that have been used in the past are Histiophorus herschelii (Gray, 1838), Tetrapturus herschelii (Gray, 1838), Makaira ampla ampla (Poey, 1860), Tetrapturus amplus (Poey, 1860), Orthocraeros bermudae (Mowbray, 1931), and Makaira perezi (Buen, 1950).
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