The giant sunfish, whose scientific name is Mola alexandrini, is a species of ocean sunfish in the family Molidae. It holds the record as the heaviest known bony fish, with a specimen found near the Azores in 2021 weighing 2,744 kilograms and measuring 3.25 meters long. The fish has a small mouth with teeth fused into a parrot like beak, a flattened rounded body, and rough brown and gray skin. It lives in tropical and temperate seas worldwide, favoring water between about 17 and 26 degrees Celsius, and is commonly seen around Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Its diet is mostly jellyfish, supplemented by brittle stars, small fish, plankton, salps and mollusks, with juveniles feeding in coastal waters and larger individuals diving deeper. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Classification
System (Realm) Relationship to People Scientific Name Conservation Status Comparison
CITES Appendix Connections
Child Taxon Of
Source Wikidata: Giant sunfish
In Biome
In Ecosystem
Source Giant sunfish (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases
Found In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Sources
1. Giant sunfish (Wikipedia)
Introduction
The giant sunfish or bumphead sunfish (Mola alexandrini), also known as the Ramsay's sunfish, southern sunfish, southern ocean sunfish, short sunfish or bump-head sunfish, is a fish belonging to the family Molidae.
article text (relationship to people), EntityId 365671
Only a small number of fisheries target sunfish, including those in Taiwan and Japan.
Diet
They mainly consume jellyfish, which are of low nutritional content but abundant, and they will also eat brittle stars, small fish, plankton, algae, salps, and mollusks.
In Ecosystem: Galapagos, Economic importance for humans
In locations like the Galapagos Islands and the Alboran Coast in the Mediterranean, sunfish are spotted frequently enough to have sunfish tours.
In Biome: Marine, Taxonomy
Also known as the southern ocean sunfish or southern sunfish, Mola alexandrini are commonly found in the epipelagic zone of the ocean, where enough light penetrates for photosynthesis to occur, although recent studies also suggest they may also be more common in deep waters.
In Biome: Marine, Habitat
Although members of the genus Mola are found in many oceans throughout the world, this species thrives best in the open ocean of tropical and temperate seas, preferring warmer temperatures ranging from 16.8 C to 25.6 C (62.24 F to 78.08 F), averaging 19.9 C (67.82 F).
View the Source2. UNEP-WCMC Species+ database (CITES Secretariat): Species+: Animalia
UNEP-WCMC Species+ database (CITES Secretariat)Species+ taxon_concepts, id 23Quote, Species+ taxon_concepts, id 23
"cites_listing":"I/II/III/NC","eu_listing":"A/B/C/D/NC","higher_taxa":{"kingdom":"Animalia","phylum":null,"class":null,"order":null,"family":null},"synonyms":[],"common_names":[{"name":"Animals","language":"EN"},{"name":"Fauna","language":"EN"},{"name":"Animaux","language":"FR"}],"cites_listings":[]
3. Wikipedia: Giant sunfish
4. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy (IUCN Red List category): IUCN Red List category of Mola alexandrini
GBIF Backbone Taxonomy (IUCN Red List category)iucnRedListCategory recordQuote, iucnRedListCategory record
"category": "NOT_EVALUATED"
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
Wikidata: Giant sunfish
Child Taxon Of: Tetraodontiformes, Wikidata parent-taxon (P171) chainView the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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