Coryphaena

Coryphaena
	Mahi-mahi (C. hippurus)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Carangiformes
Family:	Coryphaenidae; Rafinesque, 1810
Genus:	Coryphaena; Linnaeus, 1758
Type species
	Coryphaena hippurus; Linnaeus, 1758
Species
	See text.

Coryphaena is a

ray-finned fishes known as the dolphinfishes, and is currently the only known genus in the family Coryphaenidae. The generic name is from Greek κορυφή (koryphē, "crown, top") and -αινα (-aina, feminine suffix).^[1] Species in this genus have compressed heads and single dorsal fins

that run the entire length of the fishes' bodies.

Dolphinfish are aggressive

pelagic

predators. The dolphinfish can reach up to about 40 kilograms (88 lb), and are some of the fastest-growing species in the ocean.

Despite the name, dolphinfishes are unrelated to and look unlike dolphins (which are marine mammals with pointed snouts), and commercially their meat is often labeled with its Hawaiian name mahi-mahi to reduce possible public confusion. The origin of the name "dolphinfish" is recent, to avoid confusion with dolphins, as the traditional name of the fish was also "dolphin". Why the mammal and the fish were both called "dolphin" is uncertain, but theories include that dolphinfish communicate using high-pitched sounds similar to a dolphin, and they are about the size of a small dolphin,^[2] or due to dorado (Spanish for "golden") having been purportedly used historically in Spanish for both dolphins (normally delfín) and dolphinfish.^[3]

Species

The currently recognized species in this genus are:^[4]

Image	Scientific name	Common name	Distribution
	Coryphaena equiselis Linnaeus, 1758	pompano dolphinfish	South America
	Coryphaena hippurus Linnaeus, 1758	mahi-mahi, common dolphinfish, or dorado	Gulf of Mexico, Costa Rica, Hawaii and Indian Ocean.