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The fastest fish in the world. The fastest aquatic animals Which fish is the fastest

On earth, the cheetah is considered the fastest animal - on its long straight legs, it can accelerate more than a hundred kilometers per hour! Such a speed for a living creature seems incredible to us, but just think, fish live in the depths of the water that can overtake a swift-footed predator, while exceeding it in weight twice. Let's take a closer look at the inhabitants of the seas and oceans and find out what it is - the fastest fish in the world?

General information

Fish are not only our source of food. They are also fascinating and amazing creatures of nature, which sometimes you just want to contemplate. But the most exciting "attribute" of fish is their ability to swim quickly at incredible speeds.

They use their incredible speed to chase down food or outrun predators. In general, the ability of fish to swim quickly is their way of surviving in the wild, or rather in the waters.

We present to your attention a list of the fastest fish in the world, as well as their maximum swimming speed. Some of the things listed here may surprise you, but the truth is that fish truly are one of nature's greatest wonders.

The fastest fish in the world actively cut through the water surface for various reasons that they themselves are not aware of:

  • Protection. Even having a small size, it is realistic to survive in the world of toothy predators while moving fast. Lacking protection in the form of spikes, a massive jaw, or a venomous bite, fish flee for their lives. In some cases quite successful if they can pick up the necessary speed.
  • Attack. The meal is definitely canceled if the fins work sluggishly. A sharp attack on the victim does not leave her the slightest chance of salvation. Fur seals are very clever at maneuvering in the water surface, but often fall prey to more active sharks and killer whales.
  • Body structure. This aspect should still be put in first place when listing the reasons for the rapid movement of fish. Dimensions don't really matter. The main favorable factor of the possibility to frolic with speed in the water surface is an insignificant indicator of friction.

The leaders of fast accelerations are the owners of the absence of a swim bladder. The fastest fish in the world have many advantages over the rest of the underwater lads. The expression "if you want to live - be able to spin" they understand in a literal sense.

The name "Tiger Shark" immediately instills fear in us - we all know what a dangerous predator this fish really is. By itself, it is a very large representative of its species - it can reach as much as five meters in length, and weigh more than 600 kilograms! With these huge sizes, the speed that is usually inherent in this predator seems incredible: the tiger shark easily accelerates to 53 kilometers per hour. In fact, she often does not have to accelerate: an active predator will swim really fast only during an attack or a stampede, the rest of the time she prefers to slowly patrol her territory in search of food. Interestingly, the tiger shark is able to catch up even with a sea turtle (that still famous racer), and its strong teeth are enough to bite through a strong turtle shell.

The tiger shark generally swims calmly, except when attacking for food or saving its life.

Albula

Albulas also belong to the list of the fastest fish in the world. For the most part, this fish is used as a catch in sport fishing. They are found in shallow waters in tropical and subtropical regions. The maximum speed of an albul is 60 kilometers per hour.

wahoo

Wahoo (Acanthocybium solandri) lives in the tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans, as well as in the Caribbean and Mediterranean seas. The color of the back is bluish-green, the sides and belly are light. Wahoos grow to a maximum length of about 2.4 m, but more often around 1.5 m. The maximum speed of this fish is about 77 km/h. This was confirmed by scientists who studied the speed of wahoo and the results ranged from 43 to 77 km/h.

The Atlantic tarpon is in no way inferior in speed to the tiger shark, but at the same time it inspires much less fear in marine and land inhabitants. Outwardly, it resembles a herring (perhaps a large one, but show us - what kind of herring can weigh one hundred and sixty kilograms?), But apart from exclusively external data, these two types of fish are nothing more alike. The Atlantic tarpon is far from the fastest fish in the world and will not reach speeds of more than 55 kilometers per hour, but in search of any food it is able to swim record distances in a short time. Tarpon, like the tiger shark, is a predator, except that it is much less dangerous for large aquatic inhabitants - it rather prefers fry, molluscs and small crustaceans from prey. But hunting for Samotarpon often opens: since this fish prefers to swim near the coast, it often becomes a catch for fishermen, and its meat is used for food.


Atlantic tarpon is not a commercial fish species

The blue (aka blue) shark is a dangerous predator and the most common shark of all living today. You can meet her both in the deep expanses of the ocean and on the coastline - the blue shark doesn’t really care where to hunt, and its main prey is molluscs, crustaceans, bony fish, sometimes it even allows itself to feast on an unfortunate sea bird or whale. The fact that this predator even hunt whales should not be surprising: she can afford it for her size. But despite how huge it may be, it is amazing how quickly it can develop speed and overtake its prey - the blue shark accelerates to 67 kilometers per hour. Of course, it cannot be said that it is the fastest fish in the world, but we are willing to bet that those who flee from it, the speed of this shark is quite impressive.


The blue shark can grow up to four meters, and in weight reach more than two hundred kilograms.

Yellowfin tuna is a giant member of the tuna family, only smaller than its athletic cousin. Yellowfin tuna itself can grow up to two and a half meters in length, and weigh up to two hundred kilograms - and such dimensions of a predator are very impressive, especially if it is able to move these dimensions at a speed of 75 km per hour!

The yellow tuna got its characteristic name for its unusual color - along the entire length of the body, this fish has yellow and golden stripes, which are clearly visible against the background of the general gray-blue color. Yellowfin tuna mostly live in flocks, and just imagine what an impressive picture: six or seven fish, two and a half meters in size, strive to catch up with their prey at a speed of seventy-five kilometers per hour! However, we do not think that those who were hunted by tuna had much opportunity or time to be impressed.


In some individuals, the fins are additionally colored yellow or there are more stripes.

Striped (aka Atlantic blue) marlin is perhaps the fastest fish in the world, because it can swim at a speed of 85 km per hour! With such a speed, this sailboat fish easily overtakes most sharks and, at the same time, significantly exceeds them in size - marlin can grow up to five meters in length and weigh more than eight hundred kilograms. Interestingly, this fish develops its tremendous speed despite the fact that it does not have a huge dorsal fin, and it is precisely due to it that most fish can generally accelerate. The striped marlin is widely reflected in popular culture - it is depicted on several coats of arms.


In Ernest Hemingway's well-known work The Old Man and the Sea, the protagonist hunts precisely the striped marlin.

Horse mackerel is a very small, but very nimble fish. Compared to all the previous representatives of our list, it seems quite tiny - its dimensions, as a rule, do not exceed fifty centimeters in length, and its weight is about 300-400 grams. No matter how small the fish is, speed cannot be taken away from it: horse mackerel is able to move at a speed of more than 80 km per hour! It is interesting that even such a crumb uses its abilities to quickly overtake the victim, because horse mackerel is a predator that feeds on small mollusks and plankton, less often invertebrates. That fish lives mainly in large groups - they form shoals, and migrate in their composition - with a change in temperature, horse mackerels prefer to move to warmer waters. It is a commercial fish species, it is often caught, and people like to eat horse mackerel.


Among the cooking methods, salted canned food made from horse mackerel is especially appreciated.

Although such a name seems more appropriate for some yacht club, the fact remains that the sailfish is the fastest fish in the world, and there is no creature either in the sea or on land that would be able to overtake it. The highest speed of a sailfish is 110 km per hour, which seems simply incredible, because not every car can accelerate like that! And if we add to this the gigantic dimensions - three meters in length and one hundred kilograms of weight - then the picture is more than impressive.

A feature of the sailfish is the unusual structure of the body of this fish: it has a powerful and long body covered with small scales, and on the “nose” there is a huge growth that resembles a spear. Despite the obvious fears that a sharp meter-long “stick” on the nose of a three-meter fish causes, this growth is not a real weapon: it does not help to hunt or defend itself, but serves to make it convenient for the sailfish to “cut” the water in front of it during fast movement. It is partly thanks to him that the fastest fish in the world can accelerate over 100 km per hour: the sharp shape relieves the pressure of turbulent water flows that a sailfish has while moving.

An interesting feature of this predator is the ability to change its color during the hunt. When attacking, he can give his body various shades - from silver to almost black, while scientists still do not understand the purpose of these maneuvers. It is assumed that in this way he is simply trying to confuse his prey so that he does not have to chase after it, although it is not that the sailfish could ever not catch up with someone.


Sailfish hit the Guinness Book of Records for its phenomenal speed

Speed ​​records

The sailboat inviolably holds the speed record among fish. Behind him is his closest relative, the marlin. But both of them are far from the only "racers" in the oceans. Not far behind the marlin is the Waho fish, which lives in the waters surrounding Central America. Her speed record is 78 kilometers per hour.

Waho is somewhat behind the common tuna familiar to us with its 70 kilometers per hour. Perhaps if tuna could move a little faster, they would not become a favorite food for killer whales and other predators. But what to do? Killer whales also need to eat someone, and if they can’t catch up with marlin, then let it be tuna.

But the next sea sprinter does not have to run away from anyone. Rather, all other inhabitants of the oceans tend to give way to him as soon as possible. We are talking about a great blue shark, whose maximum speed is only one kilometer behind that of a tuna. (This is how sometimes such a small number decides who lives and who dies). The blue shark is in a hurry only when it wants to eat, and here it is better not to get in its way not only to fish, but also to people. This animal does not make out how many limbs its prey has and what species it (prey) belongs to, but grabs and swallows everyone in a row.

Slightly slower, but also at an impressive speed - up to 64 kilometers per hour - swordfish can swim. And quite a bit they are inferior to flying fish, whose speed record is 56 kilometers per hour. The advantage of a flying fish is that, if it suddenly fails to break away from a pursuer in the water, it jumps to the surface and flies through the air. Usually a predator, having lost sight of a flying fish at this moment, begins to look for other prey. And the fish, having flown from 50 to 400 meters (if you are lucky with air currents), flops back into the water alive and healthy, provided, of course, that seagulls or other no less voracious birds did not have time to eat it during the flight.

In our selection, we have collected the fastest aquatic inhabitants and found out which fish holds the record for speed among its fellows. It is noteworthy that all the individuals that we have described are predators and mostly predators of colossal sizes, two to three meters in length and several hundred kilograms in weight. The opportunity to develop high speeds is given to them only so that they can hunt, and judging by the fact that there are no non-predatory fish in our selection, the victims of the fastest aquatic inhabitants cannot swim quickly, and they have practically no chance to escape. Nevertheless, many of the individuals described by us are commercial, and, despite their gigantic size and phenomenal speed, they also have something to fear - after all, a person can easily turn all of them three meters in length and a couple of hundred kilograms of weight into ordinary canned fish.

Answering the question "what is the fastest fish in the world" is quite difficult. After all, it is not easy to measure the speed of these animals, whether they are wild fish in the open ocean, off the coast of the sea, or even in an aquarium. But in this article, you can find more details about the fastest fish species on Earth.

sailboat

Many sources indicate that the sailfish is the fastest fish in the ocean. Shark Research Center "ReefQuest" studied the speed of the sailboat and determined that it was equal to 109 km / h during the jump.

The sailboat can grow up to 3.5 meters in length and weigh about 100 kg. Their most notable characteristics are the large first dorsal fin (sail-like) and the upper jaw, which is long and sharp. The sailboat has a blue-grey back and white underparts.

Sailboats live in the temperate and tropical waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. They feed predominantly on small bony fish and cephalopods.

swordfish

Swordfish are another fast species, although their exact speed is not known. Estimated calculations have determined that they can swim at a speed of about 100 km/h, and some sources indicate that these fish are capable of reaching speeds of 130 km/h.

The swordfish has a highly elongated upper jaw, which it uses to stun prey, as well as a high dorsal fin. The color of the back is brownish-black, and the lower part of the body is light.

Swordfish are common in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans and the Mediterranean Sea.

Black marlin

This BBC video says that black marlin is the fastest fish on the planet. This information is based on line caught marlin. It is said to be capable of pulling line from a reel at a speed of 36.5 m/s, which equals 131.4 km/h.

Black marlin is common in the waters of the Pacific and Indian oceans. Its maximum body length is 4.65 m and its weight is 750 kg.

wahoo

Wahoo ( Acanthocybium solandri) lives in the tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans, as well as in the Caribbean and Mediterranean seas. The color of the back is bluish-green, the sides and belly are light. Wahoos grow to a maximum length of around 2.4m, but more commonly around 1.5m.

The maximum speed of this fish is about 77 km/h. This was confirmed by scientists who studied the speed of wahoo and the results ranged from 43 to 77 km/h.

Tuna

bluefin tuna

Bluefin tuna and yellowfin tuna are very fast swimmers, and although they appear to be slowly circling the ocean, these fish are capable of speeds in excess of 65 km/h. A study was conducted that compared the speed of wahoo and yellowfin tuna, with the latter exceeding 74 km/h. The maximum speed of the bluefin tuna (during the jump) was 70 km / h.

Bluefin tuna can reach a body length of more than 3 m. This species can be found in the Atlantic Ocean, as well as the waters of the Mediterranean Sea. The yellowfin tuna lives in tropical and subtropical waters throughout the world. The maximum body length of these fish is 2 m.

Longfin tuna - another species of the genus tuna - is capable of speeds up to 65 km / h. This species is common in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, as well as the Mediterranean Sea, and is commonly used for canning. It grows to about 1.2 m in length and can weigh up to 40 kg.

Bonito

Bonito, the common name for fish from the bonito (or sard) genus, which includes species such as: Atlantic, Australian, Oriental and Chilean bonito. Representatives of the genus are able to jump at a speed of about 65 km / h. Bonitos have a body length of about 1 m.

It is known that the speed of many land animals and birds is many times greater than the human. How are things in the water? Underwater life does not tolerate delay. The rules are the same: predators catch up, prey run away. Consider both sides of the food chain and determine the champions in high-speed swim.

TOP - 10 fastest fish in the world

The reservoir of predators has powerful teeth and a strong speed - about 43 kilometers per hour. There are individuals up to 2 meters long, weighing 2 - 10 kg. They live in the warm waters of the oceans. They feed on small fish, they can eat on the wounded inhabitants of the ocean, including their own kind.

There were isolated cases of attacks on a person. Often, barracudas are easy on divers. Surprisingly, their diet includes poisonous pufferfish. Such a delicacy does not harm the fish, but the meat absorbs the poison. Cases of poisoning people have been recorded.

An inhabitant of the coastal waters of western Africa. The body length can be up to 2.5 m. The fishermen organize fishing competitions. It is interesting that they catch spinning or fly fishing. It takes a combination of human physical strength and powerful tackle to catch some of the fastest fish in the ocean.

The species is of interest only as a trophy and is not commercial. Mostly come across individuals of a meter length weighing up to 70 kg. The record weight of the fish caught is 161 kg. Tarpon speed does not exceed 50 km/h. He hurries to grab insects, small fish, shrimps. But in our top it only manages to rank ninth.

It is enough for a predator to swim 53 kilometers per hour in order to successfully hunt and escape from enemies. It is a valuable commercial fish. It lives in the central part of the Pacific, as well as the tropical and subtropical zone of the World Ocean.

Blue Shark or Mokoi

Outweighs the previous fellow, accelerating up to 65 km. Inhabits tropical and Pacific waters.

Sharks have powerful jaws. They are devoid of gourmet qualities and consume everything that catches their eye. The diet includes fish, snakes, squids, mammals, crabs… people. Presumably sharks eat human remains. But there are also real victims. In 2011, blue sharks made more than 30 attempts on humans.

What predator is capable of attacking one of the fastest fish in the world? Orcas.

There are two types in the top:

  • Yellowfin - with a weight of 200 kg and a length of up to 2.5 m, it develops a speed of up to 70 km / h;
  • Pacific bluefin tuna - accelerates to 75 kilometers. Body weight reaches half a ton, body length - 4 meters.

The tuna family inhabits the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Tuna fishing is widespread, the number of individuals is declining. Among the enemies are some types of sharks and swordfish.

mackerel atlantic

The fish reaches only 80 cm in length, which reduces its chances of resistance. You have to flee from the aggressive inhabitants of the ocean. The acceleration is 80 km/h.

But no matter how fast the fastest fish in the world develops, they cannot keep up the pace at all. The saddest thing for them is that they have to live among the participants in this rating.

Swordfish

Inhabits all the oceans, is the closest relative of the leader of the ten - a sailboat. Adults grow up to 4.5 meters. The fish got its name due to the elongated lower jaw, which is a third of the body length. This organ often becomes the cause of death of representatives of the species.

The swordfish develops a speed of 97 - 130 km / h and can crash into the bottom of the boat. She cannot get out of this situation on her own. If a human does not notice the racer in time, she dies.

Representative of the sailboat family. Outwardly, it is not much different from a swordfish or a sailboat. The body length exceeds 5 meters, and the mass reaches 800 kg. When moving in throws, it can reach speeds of up to 130 km / h. Picky about the habitat, chooses the tropics.

sailfish

There are several versions about which fish swims the fastest. The sailfish is listed in the Guinness Book of Records. The two previous champions are trying to challenge the championship.

A unique creation plows the warm waters of the oceans at a speed of 109 - 150 kilometers per hour. The mass of an individual reaches 100 kg, and the length is 3.5 m. Man is the main enemy. Ernest Hemingway pioneered the sport of catching a species for a trophy. The writer caught a few copies.

Every year, in memory of him, fishermen gather on the shores of Florida, Australia, New Zealand, Peru, Tahiti and Cuba. The taste of the fish is also appreciated.

Swimmer's gift

Calculations of the speed of movement of fish are theoretical. Experimental methods work only close to the coast. The sailboat set its record of 109 km/h in Florida: it pulled 91 meters of fishing line in 3 seconds. It is believed that in the thickness of the ocean the movement is more active.

Academician A.N. Krylov somehow saw an oak ship frame pierced by the nose of a swordfish. This made him think about the question of which fish in the ocean swims the fastest. The shipbuilder was the first to suggest the speed of the swordfish. His calculations showed that the individual accelerated to 100 km / h. A piece of the ship is now kept in the Museum of England.

The body structure of the three winners is distinguished by a fin stretched along the entire ridge. In shape, it resembles a sail, which determines the name of the family. When accelerating, all the fins fold in, which allows the fish to better feel the water, providing a minimum coefficient of friction. These marine inhabitants tend to jump out and overcome part of the way through the air.

It is quite difficult to determine the fastest fish in the world and its maximum speed. One thing is clear: underwater inhabitants are in no way inferior to mammals and birds. From our selection, it can be seen that the victims move more slowly than their enemies. There are cases when people and animals exceeded their capabilities in extreme situations. Do you think fish are capable of surpassing their own speed? We are waiting for your comments!

The fastest land animal on earth is the cheetah, capable of reaching speeds of over 100 km/h. But some marine inhabitants have no less speed of movement and dexterity.

Readers are presented the fastest fish in the world- top 10.

10. Atlantic tarpon Speed ​​up to 50 km/h

Opens the ten fastest fish in the world, which is able to reach speeds in water up to 50 km / h. Tarpon has a peculiar appearance and slightly resembles a large herring. In search of food, tarpon can travel huge distances in a week. It feeds on various mollusks, crustaceans, fry of other fish species that prefer smaller habitats and walk closer to the surface of the water.

9. Tiger shark speed up to 53 km/h

It is one of the most dangerous and fastest marine life with a maximum speed of 53 km/h. It is also one of the largest modern sharks with a body length of up to 5 meters. Active predators and excellent swimmers, tiger sharks usually patrol the territory slowly, making subtle movements, but become fast and agile when they smell food. While attacking or fleeing, they are able to instantly develop high speed. Tiger sharks are found close to shore, mostly in tropical and subtropical waters around the world.

8. Albula Speed ​​up to 60 km/h

It occupies the eighth line in the list of the fastest fish in the world with a maximum speed of 60 km / h. This is a predatory fish that is found in the waters of tropical and subtropical seas. The size of a large individual can reach 1 meter in length, and weight up to 9 kilograms. For the most part, the marine life is used as a catch in sport fishing.

7. Swordfish Speed ​​up to 65 km/h

Able to move in water at a speed of 65 km / h, which allows her to bear the title of one of the fastest fish in the world. It got its name due to the strongly elongated and flattened upper jaw, which has the shape of a pointed sword and is up to a third of the length of the whole fish. The swordfish has no ventral fins, and the tail has a crescent shape, immediately showing the high speed qualities of its owner. As for the dimensions of the marine life, it can reach 4.55 m in length and weigh 650 kg. Swordfish is found in tropical and subtropical waters of all oceans, it is found singly in the Black and Azov Seas, where it appears only in summer. It is an object of fishing, mainly pelagic longline, and a valuable trophy of sport fishing - trolling. No human attacks were reported until May 2015, when a swordfish in Hawaii attacked fishing boat skipper Rency Llanes, who harpooned it. The sword pierced the chest, and the man died.

6. Blue shark speed up to 69 km/h

One of the fastest marine predators with a maximum speed of 69 km/h. Large predatory fish are also found far from the coast, in the oceanic expanses, and near the coastline itself. But it is more common to see these fish in the open sea, as part of a convoy of ocean-going ships and liners, so the blue shark is considered mainly a pelagic fish. Perhaps this is one of the most numerous species among the sharks of the World Ocean, along with such common predators as herring and salmon sharks.

5. Southern bluefin tuna Speed ​​up to 74 km/h

With a swimming speed of 74 km / h, it ranks fifth in the ranking of the fastest fish in the world. Pacific bluefin tuna are in constant motion. When they stop, they have difficulty breathing, because the gill covers open in accordance with the transverse movements of the body to the left and right. Water passes through the open mouth into the gill cavity only on movement. They are schooling pelagic fish that make long migrations. Sometimes they form shoals with tunas of other species close in size - longfin, yellowfin, bigeye, striped, etc. The diet is varied and depends on the food supply in the feeding areas. It is based on schooling pelagic fish that live near the surface of the water.

4. Yellowfin tuna Speed ​​up to 75 km/h

One of the fastest fish in the world with a speed of 75 km/h. The marine predator is distinguished primarily by its huge size, it can reach two and a half meters and weigh 200 kilograms. He got his nickname for the corresponding color, his body is painted in gray-blue color, and along the back there are longitudinal lines of yellow-white color. There are 20 such lines in total. The anal fin of this type of tuna is also colored bright yellow. A long solar stripe also runs along the sides, however, in some individuals, it is absent. The yellowfin tuna lives mainly in flocks, it feeds on squid, small fish and various crustaceans.

3. Striped marlin Speed ​​up to 77 km/h

Opens the top three fastest fish in the world with a speed of movement in water up to 77 km / h. It got its name due to the well-pronounced transverse striping of the body. Extremely rare in the equatorial zone, it undertakes significant migrations, during which this fish moves to higher latitudes in the warm season and returns to the warm-water areas of the range in winter. The predator feeds mainly on squid, fish and crustaceans.

2. Horse mackerel speed up to 80 km/h

It ranks second in the ranking of the fastest fish in the world. A marine animal is able to develop an impressive speed when swimming, which is 80 km / h. High speed plays a very important role for horse mackerel, because it is a predator and this helps it to overtake its prey in a short time. It is a schooling fish that forms shoals as it moves through the water column. It lives in warm waters within the continental shelf, often close to the coast. It breeds in the warm season. It feeds on plankton and small fish, sometimes benthic invertebrates.

1. Sailboat Speed ​​over 100 km/h

The fastest fish in the world, capable of reaching speeds of over 100 km/h. During a series of tests carried out in one of the fishing camps, the sailboat swam 91 m in 3 s, which is equivalent to a speed of 109 km / h. Unlike the vast majority of bony fish, sailboats and related species of the sailfish and swordfish families effectively use turbulence, that is, water flows around the body not in layers, as in laminar motion, but forming fast eddies that help them reduce water resistance. Far protruding pointed outgrowths of the upper and lower jaws allow for a turbulent effect at lower speeds. When sailing fast, the sail folds up and stows away in a special recess on the back. The anal and long ventral fins are also hidden. When making sharp turns at high speed, the fins rise sharply. Sometimes sailboats slowly drift near the surface of the water with a fully extended sail protruding above the water.

This is not the first article about the fastest animals on the planet. Earlier we already wrote about the fastest animals living on land and about the fastest birds that cut the air space. The main focus was on the speed by which animals turn into successful "hunters", but also many of them get a chance to escape from these same "hunters".

The special structure of the skeleton and the strength of the limbs make many animals the fastest land creatures, and in principle also applies to feathered friends, who, in addition to all of the above, also skillfully use air currents. But what about the inhabitants of the water expanses? What allows them to teach the title of "the fastest animal" that lives in the ocean, sea or fresh water?

sailfish


Sailfish (lat. Istiophorus platypterus) is the fastest fish in the world. An inhabitant of tropical and subtropical seas and oceans, in addition, it is found in the Black Sea, where it enters from the Indian Ocean. This fish got into the Guinness Book of Records due to its unique structure (characteristic dorsal fin) and the enormous speed that the sailboat can reach up to 100-109 km / h. The speed of the sailfish has been proven in tests conducted in the state of Florida (USA). The length of the sailboat can be up to 3.5 m, weight - 100 kg.

Atlantic blue marlin


Atlantic blue marlin (lat. Makaira nigricans) belongs to the Sailfish family. Although they do not have such a huge dorsal fin as sailboats, however, they are almost as fast as them. This fish grows up to 4-5 m, weighs about 800 kg, but it can easily overtake many types of sharks, and other inhabitants too. Able to reach speeds up to 85 km / h. It should be noted that images of marlin are on the coats of arms of the Bahamas and Seychelles, and it was also this fish that the hero of Ernest Hemingway's work "The Old Man and the Sea" hunted.

Atlantic mackerel


Not everyone knows the fact that one of the most popular commercial fish, namely the Atlantic mackerel (lat. Scomber scombrus) is capable of developing incredible speed - 75-80 km/h! It is with this speed that mackerel can swim during spawning or making a throw. Mackerel is an inhabitant of warm seas: Mediterranean, Marble and Black. During summer migrations, it swims in the Baltic, White, North and Barents Seas. Feeds on zooplankton and small fish.

Atlantic bluefin tuna


Atlantic bluefin tuna (lat. Thunnus thynnus) is a species that is on the verge of extinction. According to the latest data, its number is about 6-7%. It is also one of the fastest fish in the world. Tuna is able to swim at speeds up to 75 km / h. Bluefin tuna is a warm-blooded fish that lives in the Barents Sea and in the waters of Greenland, as well as in the warmer waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the Indian Ocean. It grows to an impressive size: more than 4 meters long and weighing more than 500 kilograms.

Blue, or blue shark


Blue, or blue shark (lat. Prionace glauca), she is also mokoi - the most common shark in the world. This is a fairly large shark, the length of its body can reach 4 meters, and weigh about 200 kg. The speed that this predator can develop is about 65-68 km / h. The blue shark feeds on cephalopods, bony fish, crustaceans and even small sharks, whales and seabirds.

white-winged porpoise


The white-winged porpoise (lat. Phocoenoides dalli), also known as Dall's porpoise, is a predator that can grow up to 1.8-2 meters. Lives in groups - up to 20-30 individuals. Can swim at a speed of just over 56-60 km / h. In pursuit of prey, it is able to dive to a depth of 500 meters. Hunts mainly at night.

Atlantic tarpon


Atlantic tarpon (lat. Megalops atlanticus) is a large fish resembling a herring, but the tarpon has nothing to do with it. Tarpon does not belong to commercial fish, but their meat is used for food. Tarpon are caught with a line, as this fish is found in shallow waters and near the coast. The maximum speed at which a tarpon can swim is 56 km/h. When the tarpon lacks oxygen, it quickly jumps out of the water to gulp air.

killer whale


The killer whale (lat. Orcinus orca) is one of the largest mammals living in the oceans. It is capable of speeds up to 55 km/h. She needs such speed to hunt various marine animals. Speed ​​and intelligence turn the killer whale into a formidable and dangerous predator.

Tiger shark


Tiger shark (lat. Galeocerdo cuvier) is a predatory fish with a large mouth and sharp beveled teeth. Thanks to this structure of the teeth, the shark easily cracks down on the tortoise shell. The speed of sea turtles does not exceed 35 km / h, and the tiger shark is able to reach speeds of up to 55 km / h. With such a speed, catching up with a turtle is not difficult. Then why does she need such a high speed? Probably in order not to become a victim of a larger predator.

As we can see, in the waters of the World Ocean, speed is simply necessary both for a predator and for someone who wants to get away from a predator. Everything in this world is relative: today you are hunting, and tomorrow they are already hunting you.