Isolated as a separate species in 1963. The species name is given in honor of the taxidermist from Miami Albert Pflueger ( Eng. Albert Pflueger ), who took part in the study of this fish species [4] .
The body is powerful, elongated, strongly flattened from the sides. Snout elongated, thin, spear-shaped, rounded in cross section. Its length is equal to or slightly greater than the length of the head. The back of the head is straight. Small teeth on both jaws and palate. The left and right gill membranes are fused to each other, but not attached to the gill. There are no branchial stamens on gill arches. Two dorsal fins separated by a small gap. The first fin with a long base and 44-50 soft rays. The front lobe is high, rounded, its height exceeds the height of the body in its front part. At the level of the ninth ray, the height of the first dorsal fin sharply decreases and then remains approximately the same throughout except for the posterior part. The second dorsal fin is short with 6-7 soft rays, shifted to the caudal stem. Two anal fins, the first with 12-17 soft rays, and the second with 6-7 soft rays. The anal fins are similar in shape and size to the second dorsal fin. The pectoral fins are wide, long (more than 18% of the body length) with 18-21 soft rays and rounded ends, tightly pressed to the sides of the body. The ventral fins are thin, about equal in length or slightly longer than the pectoral fins, can be retracted into the deep groove on the belly. Caudal stalk laterally compressed and slightly compressed in the dorsoventral direction. On each side of the caudal peduncle there are well-developed paired keels. The caudal fin is month-shaped. The lateral line is one, clearly visible, runs along the entire body, bends slightly above the base of the pectoral fins, then straight. There are 24 vertebrae [5] .
The shape of the scales in the lateral line and the distance between the anus and the first anal fin are the hallmarks of the marlin family. In the small lancer, the front edge of the scales is pointed, and in the rear edge of 2-5 hard pointed protrusions. The distance from the anus to the beginning of the first anal fin is equal to or greater than the height of the first anal fin (ratio 0.95-1.36) [6] .
The back is dark with a bluish tint, the sides are silver-white with randomly scattered patches of brown, the belly is silver-white. Dorsal fins dark blue without spots. The pectoral fins are dark brown, sometimes with a grayish-white hue. The ventral and first anal fins are dark blue, their bases are silver-white. The second anal fin is dark brown.
The maximum body length is 254 cm, usually up to 165 cm. The maximum recorded body weight is 58 kg [5] [3] .
Distributed in tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean between 40 ° C. w. and 35 ° S w.
Pelagic marine oceanodromic fish. Adults are usually found singly, sometimes in small groups of one-sized fish. They live in open waters at a depth of 0 to 200 m, usually above the thermocline . Prefer areas with a water temperature of about 26 °.
Reproduction
In the northern and southern hemispheres they mature and spawn in similar calendar periods, rather than in similar seasons of the year, which indicates the homogeneity of the population of this species. Females spawn once a year.
Nutrition
Small spearmen are predators and feed on fish and squid in the upper layers of the water. The composition of the diet is quite diverse. In the southern Caribbean , the diet of small lancers included Ommastrephidae , as well as herring and Mediterranean tarsier [7] . In the western Atlantic, the main food organisms were the Atlantic sea bream ( Brama brama ) and snake mackerel ( Gempylus serpens ), and of the cephalopods, Ornithoteuthis antillarum, Hyaloteuthis pelagica and Tremoctopus violaceus [8] . In the northern sub-tropical and tropical regions of the Atlantic Ocean, fish (over 75%) and cephalopods (over 20%) predominated in the diet of the small spear-bearer. Fish belonging to 12 families were found in the stomachs, of which more than 80% were representatives of three families: gempilovye (Gempylidae), flying fish (Exocoetidae) and mackerel (Scombridae). Sea bream (Bramidae) were represented in much smaller numbers (about 10%) [9] .
