5.灰鲭鲨
Much like their larger cousins, the Great Whites, Mako sharks are found in waters all over the world, though they are particularly well-adapted to surviving in cold water. They are known as pelagic species, which means they prefer deep ocean waters free of clutter for their travels. And travel they do, with a regular cruising speed of around 35 miles per hour, they cover migration ranges of more than a thousand miles in only a month. However, when they are hunting or feel threatened, they can execute bursts of speed in excess of 60 miles per hour. While they aren’t especially picky about what they eat, they seem to prefer schooling fish—tuna, swordfish, or herring.
灰鲭鲨和体积偏大的大白鲨有点像，虽然更适应在冷水里生存，但是各个海域中都能见到它们的身影。灰鲭鲨是深海生物，喜欢在没有阻力的海洋深处任意游动。它们能以35英里每小时的速度，只用一个月游完1000英里的迁徙距离。但是当它们捕食或是感觉受到威胁的时候，它们的游速可以超过60英里每小时。它们对自己的食物倒不是特别挑剔，但似乎偏向集群鱼类一点——金枪鱼，箭鱼或是青鱼。
Descended from a Cretaceous Era giant of the sea, the Mako of today tops out at around 500 pounds—and bears all the hallmarks of evolutionary success. They have a compact, streamlined design that makes speed on demand a possibility. Large eyes, which are even larger in the rare longfin variant of the species, render them highly successful hunters. One other evolutionary marvel that they share with Great Whites is an endothermic circulatory system—that means warm-blooded. This enables them to distribute and maintain a stable body heat even in the coldest water. While it is a mechanism employed by several fish throughout the world, it is a characteristic that has been honed to perfection by these ultimate predators of the sea.
继承了白垩纪海洋巨型生物的特点——灰鲭鲨最重可达到5000磅左右，身上带着成功进化的印记。紧凑，流线型的体型满足对速度的需求。灰鲭鲨的眼睛比长鳍变异生物的眼睛还大，因此它们成为了海洋中捕食成功率非常高的捕猎者。另一个和大白鲨都有的进化特征便是体内的吸热循环系统——也就是说它们是温血动物。因此即使在最寒冷的冬天也能够散热保持身体的恒定温度。虽然世界上有很多鱼都拥有这样的本事，但这个特点让这些海里的终极捕食者变得愈趋完美。
4.骨鱼
This fish can be found in most tropical and subtropical shallow waters. It’s so named for its large number of fine bones, but it’s also one of the fastest shallow bottom fish in the world. Unlike its faster friends, the pelagic fishes, such as tuna and mackerel, this fish moves up into mud flats to feed during high tide, and has an air bladder that allows it to breathe easy during these trips. They tend to enjoy crustaceans and other creatures found in less than twelve inches of water that they crush with powerful pharyngeal teeth. While they can live as long as 19 years, these fish are a favorite snack of both sharks and barracudas. That means they have a need for speed in order to escape capture. They can maintain flight speed of up to 40 miles per hour for long durations. Another safety tactic is their small school size—only about 100 gather together at any time, and each fish maintains a constant distance from its neighbors.
在大部分热带和亚热带的浅海里都能发现骨鱼。它身上有许多细密的骨头，因此得名，但是它也是世界上游得最快的浅底鱼之一。不像其它游得更快的小伙伴，比如金枪鱼和鲭鱼这样的上层鱼类，骨鱼在涨潮时钻进泥滩觅食，气囊让它在找食物的路途上呼吸得更轻松。它们喜欢吃甲壳类动物和其他生活在水下12英尺以内的生物，进食时它们会用有力的牙齿咬碎猎物。只有19年寿命的骨鱼是鲨鱼和梭鱼最爱的零食。因此它们必须要速度很快才能躲过猎捕。骨鱼可以长时间保持40英里每小时的速度游动。另外鱼群很小——任何时候都只有100条鱼聚集在一起，每条鱼之间都保持恒定的距离。
They range throughout the Caribbean Sea—as far north as the Carolinas and down as far as the lower reaches of Brazil in their Atlantic habitats. They can be found from Hawaii to Peru and up as far North as San Francisco Bay in the Pacific, but tend to shy away from ranging any farther from the equator. While they are often prized as game fish among sports enthusiasts—especially for their canny habits and maneuvers honed while outwitting natural predators—the flesh is incredibly bony. It is, therefore, not considered an important source of nutrition when other fish are available. Its other names also include bananafish, banana, and ladyfish.
整个加勒比地区，北至卡罗来纳，一直到巴西的下游都有骨鱼的栖息地。从夏威夷到秘鲁，北至太平洋的旧金山湾都可以发现它们的踪迹，但是这些鱼很少在赤道附近活动。尽管在体育爱好者中，骨鱼常常被作为猎用鱼——尤其是因为它们可以谨慎的生活习惯和矫健的身姿战胜天敌。骨鱼骨瘦如柴，因此，当有其他鱼类可以选择时，它们就不作为重要的营养来源了。骨鱼也叫香蕉鱼、香蕉和海鲢。
3.梭鱼
Often called a King Fish or a Wahoo, this fish is a decidedly nasty customer. One of the most proficient predators in tropical and subtropical waters around the world, the barracuda reaches a top speed of 47 miles per hour. When paired with its distinctive and often unpredictable directional darting, what is a terror for fish is a delightful challenge for sport fishing enthusiasts. While they’re a pelagic or open-water species, they also make themselves quite at home among the formations of reefs.
梭鱼通常被称为国王鱼或火树，这种鱼相当卑鄙下流。它是热带和亚热带海域中最熟练的捕食者之一。梭鱼最高时速可达47英里。当配上它独一无二又不可预知的猛冲时，对其他鱼是一种灾难，但对钓鱼爱好者来说是一项令人愉快的的运动。虽然它们生活在深海和远洋之中，但是在珊瑚礁自己家里时也是十分安静的。
In the tropics, snorkeling and diving parties are often warned to keep a sharp eye out for these unfriendly-looking fish. They aren’t in the habit of attacking humans, but they may be aggressive if they feel threatened. While they do hunt among the reefs, more often, they can be found hanging in the midst of a current, looking for all the world as if they’re taking a break. Tending to favor a diverse diet of other pelagic species and squid, they have few natural predators. However, several species of sharks and larger predatory fish find them delicious. One fascinating aspect of the barracuda’s development is that, while most individual specimens tend to slow in growth once they’ve reached about 66 inches in length, their weight is a different matter. Specimens that live in the warmer waters of equatorial oceans and seas tend to be less robust. Weight appears to be dependent upon how cold the water becomes—the heavier specimens living in the chillier northern waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and the Mediterranean Sea. As well, while they are fully mature at two years of age, researchers believe that they may live to be six years old or more in ideal conditions.
在热带地区，带装备潜水的朋友们常常要警惕这些不友好的鱼。它们没有攻击人类的习惯，但如果它们感到有危险就会变得很有攻击性。梭鱼在珊瑚礁中捕食时，会隐藏在涌流中，搜寻猎物，但是外表看起来却像正在休息。它们的饮食十分多样，吃深海中的生物和鱿鱼，几乎没有天敌。但是偶尔也会沦为某些鲨鱼和大型食肉鱼的盘中餐。关于梭鱼的成长有一个有趣的事，一旦长到66英寸左右，身长就会减缓生长，但体重的增长就是另一回事了。生活在温暖水域和赤道附近的海洋的梭鱼不太健壮，它们的体重似乎与水温有关。太平洋和大西洋北部寒冷的水域及地中海中的梭鱼较重。梭鱼两岁便成年，研究人员认为它们有六年的寿命，在理想环境下，可能会更长一点。
2.旗鱼
A close relative of marlins, though a separate family and distinct species, the swordfish is hunted both for sport and as an expensive prestige food in many Western cultures. While these fish can be found in temperate waters around the world, including the Mediterranean Sea, heavy over harvesting has led protective agencies to place them on a list of endangered species. Indiscriminate harvesting practices have also contributed to depredations of other marine species not being directly culled—such as sea turtles.
旗鱼虽是马林鱼的近亲，却分属于不同的家族、截然不同的物种。在西方文化中，旗鱼是垂钓运动的“目标鱼种”及餐桌上彰显主人地位的“上等食物”。它们广泛分布于包括地中海（Mediterranean）地区在内的全球热带、亚热带海域。由于过度捕捞，相关保护机构已将旗鱼列为濒危物种。非选择性的捕捞也间接威胁到了海龟等其他海洋物种。
However, while stiff fines are often appended to the catching of these fish, they still represent a strong draw for sports fishing. They have been recorded as leaping in excess of 50 miles per hour, and swimming steadily at speeds as much as 60 miles per hour. Like their much larger friends in the billfish group, they tend to prefer open water, and migrate to warmer climates during the cold season. However, unlike Marlins, they will dive up to 2,000 feet in pursuit of prey, and their swordlike bill is used more to thrash than to pierce prey. While they once averaged 1,200 pounds in weight, growing up to 14 feet in length—the Pacific variety being the largest of the many locational variants of swordfish—years of over fishing has reduced the size of the average catch. They generally weigh no more than 200 pounds at the very best—often less—and are seldom more than six feet long. In addition to human over fishing, they continue to be occasionally hunted by Orcas and sharks. Even large tuna will sometimes prey on the immature, smaller individuals.
然而，即使捕捞旗鱼会被处以严厉的罚款，它们仍是垂钓运动中的一大吸睛亮点。据记录显示，它们在水中跳跃的时速可达50英里，游泳时速可保持在60英里。与长嘴鱼族群一样，旗鱼也偏爱开阔的水域，冬季会洄游至气候相对温暖的水域。与马林鱼有所不同的是，它们会对猎物穷追不舍，为了捕猎可跳跃2000英尺。比起用尖长嘴刺穿猎物，它们更爱用此利器把猎物敲死。它们的平均体重可达1200磅，身长达14英尺。在众多旗鱼变种中，属太平洋（Pacific）海域的旗鱼体积最大。当然，多年来的过度垂钓导致平均被捕捞到的旗鱼尺寸大大缩减，体重不到200磅，也鲜有超过6英尺长的。除了人类的捕捞，它们不时会遭到虎鲸和鲨鱼的猎杀。体型硕大的金枪鱼有时也会将它们的幼鱼和个别“小个子”侵吞入腹。
1.马林鱼
Although the Blue Marlin, a denizen of the Atlantic, may be the most recognizable member of this group of species, there are several that comprise a worldwide population of billfish. Marlins in general are characterized by the elongated bill, which they use to spear prey, and a rigid or semi-retractable dorsal fin that may come forward to form a type of sail or crest. They’re actually closely related to trout, and may have also presented freshwater or estuary species in the past. However, today, the Blue Marlin and the much larger Black Marlin are the two largest groups in the billfish group. The Blue Marlin can grow to nearly seven feet in length and weigh up to 260 pounds. The Black Marlin grows to 16 feet and can weight as much as 1,500 pounds. Both species average a speed of about 68 miles per hour.
蓝枪鱼（俗称蓝色马林鱼）生活在大西洋（Atlantic）海域，它可能是这片海域的所有物种中最出名的鱼类。它们中的几个已囊括了全世界范围内所有的长嘴鱼品种。马林鱼有着可以刺穿猎物的尖长嘴，背鳍壮硕有力，前行时状如船帆。它们与鳟鱼是近亲，曾经也活跃于淡水域或江河入海口中。蓝枪鱼和体积更大的黑枪鱼可能是目前长嘴鱼族群中最庞大的两大家族。成年蓝枪鱼长度可达7英尺，体重可达260磅。黑枪鱼长度可达16英尺，体重可达1500磅。两大族群的平均游泳时速约为68英里。
Marlins are surface pelagic fish—meaning that they prefer the open ocean, but stick to the top levels of the water, and rarely dive very far for their prey. Because they also prefer to spawn and live in warmer waters, they do seasonally migrate from cooler subtropical locations closer to the equator as the seasons turn. Although the species matures relatively swiftly, the typical sexual dimorphism—when the male is larger than the female of a species—is reversed. Fully mature females can be as much as three or four times the size of their male counterparts. How much sport fishing and commercial depredations have to do with this phenomenon is unclear, though it does appear to be a trend innate to the species. Such intense speeds are amazing anywhere, but when you consider that these animals attain and maintain these velocities in an environment with a density far greater than air, it becomes phenomenal. As our technology advances, scientists are able to observe the once-secret behaviors of animals such as the Pilot Whale, diving deep below the surface, and exhibiting behavior no one ever suspected. As well, we are now able to obtain a more accurate idea of how fast species travel beneath the waves, rather than only when they leap above them. Consider this: we know more about other planets in our solar system than we do about our own oceans and the animals that inhabit them. With a better understanding and the help of advanced technology, we will be able to study marine populations as never before, to preserve them and understand them, and well as utilize them more responsibly.
马林鱼是一种浅海鱼，它们更喜欢生活在远洋中。但是它们却喜欢呆在上层水域，也很少为了猎物下潜。它们喜欢在温暖的水域中产卵生活，因此有季节性洄游的习性。冬季从相对寒冷的亚热带水域迁移至赤道附近，来年再游回原处。马林鱼生长迅速，属两性异形鱼，一般来讲，相同品种的雄鱼体积大于雌鱼。但是成年雌马林鱼的体积大概是其配偶的三到四倍。这一现象有多少是由垂钓运动和商业破坏所致还未可知，但这确实是物种自然生长的趋势之一。如此惊人的速度简直秒杀一切，但考虑到它们能在比空气密度更大的环境中达到并保持此等高速，这就略显逆天了。随着人类科技的进步，科学家们能够在深海中观察圆头鲸等动物不为人知的行为举止，并将这些体态展现出来。同时，我们也能获得更为准确的信息，比如生物以多快的速度从海浪下方穿过，而不仅仅是它们越过海浪的那一瞬的速度。请深思以下内容：我们对太阳系的其他星球了解颇多，却对地球上的海洋及海洋生物知之甚少。在科技进步和增进了解的基础上，我们可以对海洋生物达到一个前所未有的认知高度，以更负责的态度去保护、理解并利用它们。
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