Spesies billfish (ikan berparuh) sebenar dibahagi kepada dua keluarga dan lima genus. Keluarga Xiphiidae hanya ada satu spesies iaitu Xiphias gladius atau ikan pedang (swordfish), dan keluarga lainnya, Istiophoridae, mengandungi 11 spesies dalam empat genus termasuk marlin, spearfish, dan sailfish.
Ada kontroversi tentang berkait marlin biru Indo-Pasifik, Makaira mazara, adalah spesies yang sama dengan marlin biru Atlantik, M. nigricans. Menurut Fishbase (Nakamura, 1985) dalam mengenali M. mazara sebagai spesies yang berbeza yang merujuk kepada pola sistem garis lateral.
SWORDFISH
Family: Xiphiidae
Genus: Xiphias
Common name: Swordfish
Scientific name: Xiphias gladius (Linnaeus, 1758)
Maximum length: 455cm
Common length: 300cm
Maximum weight: 650kg
SAILFISH ATLANTIC SAILFISH
Family: Istiophoridae
Genus: Istiophorus
Common name: Sailfish Atlantic sailfish
Scientific name: Istiophorus albicans
Maximum length: 315cm
Maximum weight: 58.1kg
INDO-PACISFIC SAILFISH
Family: Istiophoridae
Genus: Istiophorus
Common name: Indo-Pacific sailfish
Scientific name: Istiophorus platypterus (Shaw, 1792)
Maximum length: 340cm
Maximum weight: 100kg
BLACK MARLIN
Family: Istiophoridae
Genus: Istiompax
Common name: Black marlin
Scientific name: Istiompax indica (Cuvier, 1832)
Maximum length: 465cm
Common length: 380cm
Maximum weight: 750kg
INDO-PASIFIC MARLIN
Family: Istiophoridae
Genus: Makaira
Common name: Indo-Pacific marlin
Scientific name: Makaira mazara (Jordan and Snyder, 1901)
Maximum length: 500cm
Common length: 350cm
Maximum weight: 625kg
ATLANTIC BLUE MARLIN
Family: Istiophoridae
Genus: Makaira
Common name: Atlantic blue marlin
Scientific name: Makaira nigricans (Lacépède, 1802)
Maximum length: 500cm
Common length: 290cm
Maximum weight: 820kg
WHITE MARLIN
Family: Istiophoridae
Genus: Tetrapturus
Common name: White marlin
Scientific name: Tetrapturus albidus (Kajikia albidaPoey, 1860)
Maximum length: 300cm
Common length: 210cm
Maximum weight: 82.5kg
SHORTBILL SPEARFISH
Family: Istiophoridae
Genus: Tetrapturus
Common name: Shortbill spearfish
Scientific name: Tetrapturus angustirostris (Tanaka, 1915)
Maximum length: 200cm
Maximum weight: 52kg
STRIPED MARLIN
Family: Istiophoridae
Genus: Tetrapturus
Common name: Striped marlin
Scientific name: Tetrapturus audax/Kajikia audax (Philippi, 1887)
Maximum length: 350cm
Maximum weight: 200kg
ROUNDSCALE SPEARFISH
Family: Istiophoridae
Genus: Tetrapturus
Common name: Roundscale spearfish
Scientific name: Tetrapturus georgii (Lowe, 1841)
Maximum length: 184cm
Maximum weight: 24kg
MEDITERRANEAN SPEARFISH
Family: Istiophoridae
Genus: Tetrapturus
Common name: Mediterranean spearfish
Scientific name: Tetrapturus belone (Rafinesque, 1810)
Maximum length: 240cm
Common length: 200cm
Maximum weight: 70kg
LONGBILL SPEARFISH
Family: Istiophoridae
Genus: Tetrapturus
Common name: Longbill spearfish
Scientific name: Tetrapturus pfluegeri (Robins and de Sylva, 1963)
Maximum length: 254cm
Common length: 165cm
Maximum weight: 58kg