Mola mola
Ocean Sunfish
NS
G5
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
There are no photos available for this taxon yet.
Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Tetraodontiformes (Pufferfishes and Allies)
Molidae (Molas)
Mola
Mola mola (Ocean Sunfish)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
It may contain errors in spelling, punctuation, or formatting.
When citing, please reference the original source rather than this page.
Learn more about our species accounts.
Characters
Orbicular, compressed, and truncate posteriorly, with clavus supported by dorsal and anal fin elements and lacking a pronounced lobe. Snout projects slightly beyond mouth. Head possesses a supraoccipital ridge extending from snout to posterior margin of eye and a less distinct ridge running from snout to pectoral fin base. Mouth is small and terminal. Eye possesses a nictitating membrane. Gill opening is small. Gill rakers on first arch are concealed beneath thick skin. Pectoral fin is located behind gill slit and has 11 to 13 rays. Dorsal fin is short, high, and falcate and originates above posterior third of body. Dorsal fin has 15 to 20 rays, and anal fin has 14 to 18 rays. Clavus is gently curved and has about 12 rays, and 8 or 9 of these have terminal ossifications. Body is covered with thick collagenous skin, and trunk and fins are covered with small, bony tubercles. Snout projection is capped with a bony tubercle.
Color is dark gray dorsally, with side grayish brown and belly dusky. Dark bar runs along base of dorsal fin, anal fin, and clavus.
Distribution
In the western Atlantic it occurs from Newfoundland to northern South America, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.
In the Gulf of Mexico it has been reported from along the Texas and Louisiana coasts.
Habitat Associations
Pelagic oceanic species
Biology
Food consists of jellyfishes and siphonophores.
Maximum known size is 350 cm TL.
Molas are distinguished for their distinct morphological characters which include reduced/fused caudal elements, presence of a clavus in place of the caudal fin, absence of a swim bladder and a degenerate, cartilaginous skeleton (Ref. 86435). Adults are found on slopes adjacent to deep water where they come in for shelter and for seeking cleaner fishes. They are usually shy. However, they may become familiar with divers in some locations (Ref. 48637). Individuals often drift at the surface while lying on its side but can swim actively and are capable of directional movements otherwise (Ref. 86435). They swim upright and close to the surface. The dorsal fin often protrudes above the water. Females are larger than males (Ref. 86435). This species has been filmed in 480 m depth with the help of a camera equipped with baits (Lis Maclaren, pers. comm. 2005). Adults eat fishes, mollusks, zooplankton, jellyfish, crustaceans and brittle stars (Ref. 4925, 5951, 48637). A live colony of the cirripede Lepas anatifera were found attached to the anterior portion of the sunfish's esophagus that was stranded in the south coast of Terceira Island, Azores Archipelago in 2004. This association has apparent advantages for the goose barnacles such as a regular intake of food and protection both from hydrodynamic hazards and from predators: but for the sunfish, it is not clear whether it is neutral, of advantage or causes feeding problems since the attachment may obstruct the sunfish's esophagus (Ref. 55063). The sunfish is registered as the heaviest bony fish and as the one with the most eggs in the Guinness Book of World Records (Ref. 6472). Generally this species is not used as food fish; some people consider it as a delicacy (Ref. 30573). The fish can be utilized fresh and can be broiled (Ref. 9988). Some parts of the fish are used in Chinese medicine (Ref. 12166). Molas may contain the same toxin as puffers and porcupine fish (Ref. 13513). They do not adapt well in captivity (Ref. 12382, 37040). Juveniles are victims of California sea lions in Monterey Bay (Ref. 37040).
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none. Produces very numerous and small eggs; 300 million eggs found in a 1.5 m long female (Ref. 4711). Oocytes in the ovaries develop in different stages suggesting Mola mola as a multiple spawner (Ref. 86440). This is the largest clutch estimate for this species (Ref. 53596).
IUCN Red List Status: Vulnerable (VU), assessed 2011-06-07. Resilience: Low (K=0.49-0.3; tmax assumed > 15; Fec=300 million (batch fecundity)).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: minor commercial.
References
Jordan and Evermann 1898
Gunter 1941
Baughman 1950
Fraser-Brunner 1951
Springer and Bullis 1956
Kemp 1957
Dawson 1965
Anderson and Cupka 1973
Robins and Ray 1986
Tortonese 1986f
Klein and MacPhee 2002c
Matsuura 2002e
Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.
Heemstra, P.C. (1986) Molidae. p. 907-908. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Clemens, W.A. and G.V. Wilby (1961) Fishes of the Pacific coast of Canada. 2nd ed. Fish. Res. Bd. Canada Bull. (68):443 p.
Hart, J.L. (1973) Pacific fishes of Canada. Bull. Fish. Res. Board Can. 180:740 p.
Tortonese, E. (1990) Molidae. p. 1077-1079. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 2.
Bigelow, H.B. and W.C. Schroeder (1953) Fishes of the Gulf of Maine. Fish. Bull. 53:1-577.
Claro, R. (1994) Características generales de la ictiofauna. p. 55-70. In R. Claro (ed.) Ecología de los peces marinos de Cuba. Instituto de Oceanología Academia de Ciencias de Cuba and Centro de Investigaciones de Quintana Roo.
Fricke, R., M. Kulbicki and L. Wantiez (2011) Checklist of the fishes of New Caledonia, and their distribution in the Southwest Pacific Ocean (Pisces). Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde A, Neue Serie 4:341-463.
Allen, G.R. and M.V. Erdmann (2012) Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth, Australia: Universitiy of Hawai'i Press, Volumes I-III. Tropical Reef Research.
Patzner, R.A. (2008) Reproductive strategies of fish. pp. 311-350. In Rocha, M.J., A. Arukwe and B.G. Kapoor (eds). Fish reproduction: cytology, biology and ecology. Science Publisher, Inc. Oxford. 631 p.
Golani, D. and R. Fricke (2018) Checklist of the Red Sea fishes with delineation of the Gulf of Suez, Gulf of Aqaba, endemism and Lessepsian migrants. Zootaxa 4509(1):1-215.
Comments On Mola mola