A sunfish, also called a mola, is any fish in the genusMola (familyMolidae). The fish develop their truncated, bullet-like shape because the back fin, which is present at birth, never grows. Instead, it folds into itself as the creature matures, creating a rounded rudder called a clavus. Mola in Latin means "millstone" and describes the ocean sunfish's somewhat circular shape. They are a silvery color and have a rough skin texture.
The mola is the heaviest of all the bony fish, with large specimens reaching 14 ft (4.3 m) vertically and 10 ft (3.0 m) horizontally, and weighing over 6,000 lb (2,700 kg).[3]Sharks and rays can be heavier, but they are cartilaginous fish.
Mola are found in temperate and tropical oceans around the world. They are frequently seen basking in the sun near the surface and are often mistaken for sharks when their huge dorsal fins emerge above the water. Their teeth are fused into a beak-like structure, and they are unable to fully close their relatively small mouths.
Ocean sunfish can become infested with skin parasites, so they will often invite small fish or even birds to feast on them. Sunfish will even breach the surface up to 10 ft (3.0 m) in the air, in an attempt to shake off the parasites.
They are clumsy swimmers, waggling their large dorsal and anal fins to move, and steering with their clavus. Their food of choice is jellyfish, though they will eat small fish and huge amounts of zooplankton and algae, as well. They are harmless to people, but can be very curious and will often approach divers.
Their population is considered vulnerable,[4] as they frequently are snagged in drift gill nets and can suffocate on sea trash, like plastic bags (which resemble jellyfish, their main food source).
Speciesedit
There are currently 3 recognized species in this genus:[5][6]
^"National Geographic". National Geographic. Retrieved 2023-01-13.
^Matsuura, K (2014). "Taxonomy and systematics of tetraodontiform fishes: a review focusing primarily on progress in the period from 1980 to 2014". Ichthyological Research. 62 (1): 72–113. doi:10.1007/s10228-014-0444-5.
^Nyegaard, Marianne; Sawai, Etsuro; Gemmell, Neil; Gillum, Joanne; Loneragan, Neil R.; Yamanoue, Yusuke; Stewart, Andrew L. (19 July 2017). "Hiding in broad daylight: molecular and morphological data reveal a new ocean sunfish species (Tetraodontiformes: Molidae) that has eluded recognition". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 182 (3): 631–658. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlx040.
mola, fish, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, mola, fish, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, apr. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Mola fish news newspapers books scholar JSTOR April 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message A sunfish also called a mola is any fish in the genus Mola family Molidae The fish develop their truncated bullet like shape because the back fin which is present at birth never grows Instead it folds into itself as the creature matures creating a rounded rudder called a clavus Mola in Latin means millstone and describes the ocean sunfish s somewhat circular shape They are a silvery color and have a rough skin texture MolaTemporal range Late Miocene to Recent 1 PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg NMola molaConservation statusCITES Appendix II CITES 2 Scientific classificationDomain EukaryotaKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ChordataClass ActinopterygiiOrder TetraodontiformesFamily MolidaeGenus MolaKolreuter 1766The mola is the heaviest of all the bony fish with large specimens reaching 14 ft 4 3 m vertically and 10 ft 3 0 m horizontally and weighing over 6 000 lb 2 700 kg 3 Sharks and rays can be heavier but they are cartilaginous fish Mola are found in temperate and tropical oceans around the world They are frequently seen basking in the sun near the surface and are often mistaken for sharks when their huge dorsal fins emerge above the water Their teeth are fused into a beak like structure and they are unable to fully close their relatively small mouths Ocean sunfish can become infested with skin parasites so they will often invite small fish or even birds to feast on them Sunfish will even breach the surface up to 10 ft 3 0 m in the air in an attempt to shake off the parasites They are clumsy swimmers waggling their large dorsal and anal fins to move and steering with their clavus Their food of choice is jellyfish though they will eat small fish and huge amounts of zooplankton and algae as well They are harmless to people but can be very curious and will often approach divers Their population is considered vulnerable 4 as they frequently are snagged in drift gill nets and can suffocate on sea trash like plastic bags which resemble jellyfish their main food source Species editThere are currently 3 recognized species in this genus 5 6 Mola mola Linnaeus 1758 Ocean sunfish Mola alexandrini Giglioli 1883 Southern sunfish Mola tecta Nyegaard et al 2017 Hoodwinker sunfish References edit Sepkoski J 2002 A compendium of fossil marine animal genera Bulletins of American Paleontology 364 560 Archived from the original on 2011 12 07 Appendices CITES cites org Retrieved 2022 01 14 https www livescience com heaviest bony fish ever recorded National Geographic National Geographic Retrieved 2023 01 13 Matsuura K 2014 Taxonomy and systematics of tetraodontiform fishes a review focusing primarily on progress in the period from 1980 to 2014 Ichthyological Research 62 1 72 113 doi 10 1007 s10228 014 0444 5 Nyegaard Marianne Sawai Etsuro Gemmell Neil Gillum Joanne Loneragan Neil R Yamanoue Yusuke Stewart Andrew L 19 July 2017 Hiding in broad daylight molecular and morphological data reveal a new ocean sunfish species Tetraodontiformes Molidae that has eluded recognition Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 182 3 631 658 doi 10 1093 zoolinnean zlx040 nbsp This Tetraodontiformes article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mola fish amp oldid 1212898396, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
