The Atlantic Swordfish (Xiphias gladius), more accurately the North Atlantic Swordfish, is a population of Swordfish found in the Atlantic Ocean. It is an adoptable animal in Zoo Tycoon.
Description[]
Also known as the Broadbill, the swordfish is a predatory fish characterized by its long, flat, pointed bill. It is a large species, averaging 3m (9.8ft) in length, with the largest individuals weighing in at 650kg (1430lbs). Despite their similarities, the swordfish is only distantly related to other billed-fish such as the Blue Marlin.
Found across the world's warmer oceans, swordfish migrate large distances to find prey. It is one of the fastest known fish species and uses its speed and agility to catch its prey. The swordfish uses its long bill to slash at prey, stunning it and making it easier to catch. Swordfish are largely solitary and will often bask or breach at the open surface. Swordfish are popular with sport fishermen, although they can be dangerous when caught.
Zoo Tycoon[]
The Atlantic Swordfish's original release image.
The Atlantic Swordfish is an adoptable animal in Zoo Tycoon. It is a downloadable animal that is acquired with some copies of the Marine Mania expansion pack. Unlike all other DLC animals however, the Atlantic swordfish was not made available on the Zoo Tycoon website, instead the player would either need to have a copy of Marine Mania that has it, or download it off of Zoo Admin. The Atlantic swordfish also later came with the Complete Collection.
Like all Marine Mania animals, the Atlantic swordfish is an Aquatic animal and can share its tank with many other marine animals. When happy, the Atlantic swordfish will occasionally breach out of the water, when unhappy, the Atlantic swordfish will thrash around in its enclosure angrily.
The Atlantic swordfish requires a moderately deep tank at five units deep and is an easy animal to keep. Its favorite foliage is the Red Gorgonian and requires many Small Ocean Floor Rock clusters to maximise its habitat suitability. The Atlantic swordfish also likes the Divercate Tree Coral, Feather Duster Worm, Fire Coral, Sargassum, Sand Dollar, Sea Cucumber, Sea Grass and Stovepipe Sponge to a lesser extent.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Despite being called the Atlantic Swordfish, the animal's range actually encompasses the majority of warm oceans.
- This may be related to the animal's internal codename, being marlin. It may be possible that the animal was originally meant to be either the White Marlin or the Atlantic Blue Marlin, which would appear in Zoo Tycoon 2's similarly named Marine Mania expansion pack.
- Additionally, the Atlantic swordfish may simply be meant to represent the North Atlantic Swordfish population specifically. The word "Marlin" was also sometimes used as a name for the swordfish in the early 2000s.