Name: Sunfish
Scientific Name: Mola mola (Linnaeus, 1758)
Family: Molidae
Group: Bony fish
Class: Fish
Size: 201-400 cm.
Sunfishes are the largest bony fish in the World, reaching more than 3 meters in length and weighing in at over 2 tons!
These docile creatures often lie on their sides on the surface of the water and drift in the current. This behaviour helps them adjust body temperatures after consecutive dives in deeper, colder water.
Despite their unusual appearance, sunfishes are graceful animals, with their silvery glow and slow mesmerizing movements of the two huge fins.
Females release up to 300 million of eggs in the water, which will later be fertilized by passing males. Developing larvae undergo three separate stages, some featuring numerous odd-looking spines and also the loss of a tail fin.
Sunfishes are notorious amongst the scientific community for carrying enormous parasite loads. More than 50 internal and external parasite species have been identified so far.
Because of their delicate nature and slow movements, sunfishes easily fall prey to drift nets and other fishing methods. Their numbers are suspected to be steadily declining as a result.
Photo by:
Mafalda Frade
Global Ocean
