The science of swordfish // 155 years ago, Lloyd’s company included in the list of insurance claims damage to the hull of a ship when attacked by a swordfish

The first scientific description of the swordfish appears in the tenth edition of Carl Linnaeus ‘Systems of Nature’ in 1758. Over the past two and a half centuries, the swordfish has been studied in sufficient detail by ichthyologists and biohydrophysicists, but as data about it accumulated, more questions arose than answers. Today, only one thing is known for sure about the sword-fish: in the words of Jacques-Yves Cousteau, “this is a creature that is programmed by nature for reckless courage.” …