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Fish & Sharks

Atlantic bluefin

Waller's Table 4 reprints Gleiss et al. 2019: an Atlantic bluefin burst of 5.6 mph (2.5 m/s), sustained 3.4 mph (1.5 m/s), swimming horizontally.

An atlantic bluefin can swim 5.6 mph (2.5 m/s), a verified measurement.

Also known as Thunnus thynnus, Atlantic bluefin tuna
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Top speed

Published as 2.5 m/sPublished as 2.5 m/sPublished as 2.5 m/s

Waller et al. 2023, Table 4. Atlantic bluefin, Thunnus thynnus, speedometer, length 7.9 feet (2.4 m), sustained 3.4 mph (1.5 m/s), burst 5.6 mph (2.5 m/s), depth 0–131 feet (40 m), horizontal. Reference Gleiss et al. 2019. The figure is 5.6 mph (2.5 m/s). The table's burst-duration cell is 0 as a time.

VerifiedJournal of Fish Biology (opens source in a new tab)

In context

  • 1.8× walking paceConstant · A typical walking pace, 5 km/h
  • 24% of Usain Bolt's 100 m world-record paceSourced · Usain Bolt, 100 m in 9.58 s. World Athletics, Berlin 2009. Averaged over the race
  • A football field in 37 sConstant · American football field, 100 yd (91.44 m)

Worked out from the sourced figure above, which stays the ranked number.

Quick answers

People also ask

How fast can an atlantic bluefin swim?

An atlantic bluefin can swim 5.6 mph (2.5 m/s), a verified measurement.

Is that figure claimed or verified?

Atlantic bluefin is labeled Verified. Independently measured and published, for example in a peer-reviewed study or with certified timing.

What is the source?

The figure cites Journal of Fish Biology, “Atlantic bluefin burst in the large-pelagic speed table.”

Where does Atlantic bluefin rank?

Atlantic bluefin is 8th of 10 on Fastest Fish & Sharks.

Mechanism

Why it's so fast

Waller's Table 4 reprints Gleiss and colleagues 2019: an Atlantic bluefin, Thunnus thynnus, burst of about 5.6 mph (2.5 m/s), sustained 3.4 mph (1.5 m/s), swimming horizontally.

Species
Thunnus thynnus
Burst
5.6 mph (2.5 m/s)
Sustained
3.4 mph (1.5 m/s)

  1. A logged horizontal burst

    The 5.6 mph (2.5 m/s) burst is a speedometer figure for a fish swimming horizontally, not a dive. The sustained speed on the row is 3.4 mph (1.5 m/s). Svendsen's little tunny at 12.5 mph (5.6 m/s) is a muscle estimate of a different species.

  2. Slower than the stories

    A tagged bluefin at 5.6 mph (2.5 m/s) is the number the table says. The page does not replace it with a higher popular claim. Horizontal matters: a descent can add speed the animal did not produce, and this row is not that.

Provenance

Every measurement

Claimed, measured and official figures side by side, each with its source. The ranked figure is marked.

  1. 9.0km/h5.6mph2.5m/s4.9knRanked figure

    Waller et al. 2023, Table 4. Atlantic bluefin, Thunnus thynnus, speedometer, length 7.9 feet (2.4 m), sustained 3.4 mph (1.5 m/s), burst 5.6 mph (2.5 m/s), depth 0–131 feet (40 m), horizontal. Reference Gleiss et al. 2019. The figure is 5.6 mph (2.5 m/s). The table's burst-duration cell is 0 as a time.

    3.4 mph (1.5 m/s) is the sustained speed. The duration cell of 0 is not a clock and is not a second measurement.

    Verified
    Journal of Fish Biology (opens source in a new tab)

Reference

Specs

Species
Thunnus thynnus
Burst
5.6 mph (2.5 m/s)
Method
Speedometer, via Waller Table 4

Context

Background

Waller's Table 4 reprints Gleiss and colleagues 2019 for Atlantic bluefin tuna: length 7.9 feet (2.4 m), sustained 3.4 mph (1.5 m/s), burst 5.6 mph (2.5 m/s), horizontal, depth 0–131 feet (40 m). The figure is 5.6 mph (2.5 m/s), qualifier verified. The table calls the method a speedometer.

The duration cell on that row is 0. That is not a measured interval, so no duration is given. A caged juvenile Pacific bluefin is a different species and a different setup, and it is not added.

Head to head

Compare Atlantic bluefin

Open the speed race

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