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The ocean sunfish (Mola mola) is the world’s largest known bony fish (sharks and rays are cartilaginous, not bony). At least one estimate over 3000 lb. has been recorded and individuals reaching 11 ft. (3 m.) from fin tip to fin tip have been seen. It is found in all oceans in tropical and temperate climes, and is known to eat gelatinous zooplankton (jellyfish) and probably small fishes and algae. In the eastern Pacific, Mola mola is normally found from British Columbia to South America, although in El Nino events it has been recorded as far north as Alaska. |
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| Do molas gather and socialize? It appears so. 2002 presented us with many large schools of molas, gathered to be cleaned and ???. |
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| Long dorsal and anal fins are the mola’s principal source of locomotion -- they are flapped from side to side. |
The caudal fin of the ocean sunfish is quite short and acts like a rudder. |
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| Molas are often covered with small parasites, and will approach drift kelp and other flotsam to recruit small fish (which hide in and below the kelp) to remove these parasites. |
The business end of a mola: a mouth well suited for slurping gelatinous zooplankton, a principal food source for molas. |
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| Molas are often seen basking flat on the ocean surface, nearly motionless. This may be a thermoregulation behavior; it is not necessarily a indication that the mola is sick or injured as has been reported elsewhere. |
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| Ocean Sunfish / Mola mola Video! Click on any of the above three images to open a new window and view a video clip of the enormous, amazing, strange ocean sunfish. Also available are dozens of video clips of ocean sunfish available for license. |
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| The mola’s gill slit is covered by an operculum and is positioned just in front of the small pectoral fin. Molas range in color from dark gray to white, with many variations in mottling and spots. Juvenile molas may appear “shiny”. |
When molas are swimming at the surface it is common for their fins to be mistaken for those of sharks. |
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| Molas can be quite inquisitive of divers. |
| Molas are sometimes observed breaching the ocean surface and landing with a splash, perhaps attempting to dislodge parasites. Ocean sunfish are occasionally mauled by California sea lions, especially near the Monterey Peninsula, reportedly because the sea lions eat the mola’s internal organs and perhaps just for “sport.” The nearest relative to Mola mola is Ranzania laevis, the slender mola. Found in the tropical and subtropical Pacific, Ranzania is rarely seen north of Mexico. Up to 2 feet (.6m) in size, its aspect ratio is “longer” than is the nearly circular Mola mola. Neither species of mola is to be confused with the tiny, freshwater “sunfish”, a completely different animal. |
| Keywords: mola, Mola mola, ocean, sunfish, ocean sunfish, sun, fish, photography, photograph, underwater |
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