The term billfish refers to a group of predatory fish characterized by prominent bills, or rostra, and by their large size, some are longer than 13 ft.  Billfish include sailfish, marlin, and swordfish.  The swordfish has the longest bill, about one-third its body length. Like a true sword, it is...

The term billfish refers to a group of predatory fish characterized by prominent bills, or rostra, and by their large size, some are longer than 13 ft.  Billfish include sailfish, marlin, and swordfish.  The swordfish has the longest bill, about one-third its body length. Like a true sword, it is smooth, flat, pointed and sharp. Billfish are apex predators and feed on a wide variety of smaller fish, crustaceans, and squid.  They are pelagic and highly migratory.  Their long, bony, spear-shaped bill is used to slash at schooling fish. They swim through the fish school at high speed, slashing left and right, and then circle back to eat the fish they stunned.  Adult swordfish have no teeth, and other billfish have only small file-like teeth. They swallow their catch whole, head-first. Billfish don't normally spear with their bills, though occasionally a marlin will flip a fish into the air and bayonet it. Given the speed and power of these fish, when they do spear things the results can be dramatic. Predators of billfish, such as great white and mako sharks, have been found with billfish spears embedded in them.