A giant sunfish swimming amongst a small school of pilot fish while a scuba diver looks on in the background
Conservation status
Not evaluated (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Actinopterygii
Order:
Tetraodontiformes
Family:
Molidae
Genus:
Mola
Species:
M. alexandrini
Binomial name
Mola alexandrini
(Ranzani, 1839)[1]
Synonyms
Orthragoriscus eurypterus Philippi 1892
Orthragoriscus ramsayi Giglioli 1839[2]
Mola ramsayi Giglioli 1883[3]
The giant sunfish or bumphead sunfish (Mola alexandrini),[3] (also known as the Ramsay's sunfish, southern sunfish, southern ocean sunfish, short sunfish or bump-head sunfish in various parts of the world),[4] is a fish belonging to the family Molidae. It is closely related to the more widely known Mola mola, and is found in the Southern Hemisphere.[5] With a specimen found dead near the Azores in 2021 weighing in at 2744 kg (6049 lb) it is the largest extant bony fish species in terms of maximum recorded mass by a wide margin. It can be found basking on its side occasionally near the surface, which is thought to be used to re-heat themselves after diving in cold water for prey, recharge their oxygen stores, and attract gulls to free them of parasites.[2]
^ abFroese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2006). "Mola alexandrini" in FishBase. April 2006 version.
^ abAppeltans, W., Bouchet, P., Boxshall, G.A., Fauchald, K., Gordon, D.P., Hoeksema, B.W., Poore, G.C.B., van Soest, R.W.M., Stöhr, S., Walter, T.C., Costello, M.J. (eds.) (2010) World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS)
^ abCite error: The named reference museum was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Diane J. Bray, 2011, Short Sunfish, or even. Mola ramsayi, in Fishes of Australia, accessed 02 Feb 2014, http://www.fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/784 Archived 2015-02-20 at the Wayback Machine
^"Molas - Mola - Overview - Encyclopedia of Life". Encyclopedia of Life.[permanent dead link]
The giantsunfish or bumphead sunfish (Mola alexandrini), (also known as the Ramsay's sunfish, southern sunfish, southern ocean sunfish, short sunfish or...
The ocean sunfish or common mola (Mola mola) is one of the largest bony fish in the world. It was misidentified as the heaviest bony fish, which was actually...
crocodile The Komodo dragon The green anaconda The Chinese giant salamander The giantsunfish The Nile perch The great white shark, the largest macropredatory...
oarfish Regalecus glesne Y Y Giant oceanic manta ray Mobula birostris Y Y Giant snakehead Channa micropeltes Y Y Giantsunfish Mola alexandrini Y Y Very...
films. Since 2000 she and her colleagues have been studying the giant ocean sunfish (mola). In 2004 she was named a National Geographic "Emerging Explorer"...
The Molidae comprise the family of the molas or ocean sunfishes, unusual fish whose bodies come to an end just behind the dorsal and anal fins, giving...
Florida gar Giant barb Giant kōkopu Giant pangasius Gilded catfish Golden mandarin fish Golden perch Goldeye Green sturgeon Green sunfish Gymnarchus Hemibagrus...
are the lesser known southern sunfish (Mola alexandrini) followed by widely distributed and better known ocean sunfish (Mola mola) and, both being members...
which dwarfed the beluga sturgeon as well as the ocean sunfish, giant grouper and all the other giant bony fishes alive today. Ostracoderm - armoured jawless...
Harzhauser, Mathias; Kroh, Andreas; Ćorić, Stjepan (12 June 2009). "A giant early Miocene sunfish from the North Alpine Foreland Basin (Austria) and its implication...
Harding Expressway and 223rd Place. Numerous species of bass, pickerel, and sunfish can be found in the lake, and fishing is allowed. An urban legend speculated...
Paedocypris, at 8 mm (0.3 in); to the massive ocean sunfish, at 2,300 kg (5,070 lb); and to the giant oarfish, at 11 m (36 ft). The largest ever known ray-finned...
- Episode 1 Rhino Rescue Special". Retrieved 19 February 2020. "Ocean Sunfish". National Geographic Society. 11 November 2010. Archived from the original...
time. Later in 1995 the aquarium managed to successfully hold an ocean sunfish in captivity. Becoming one of the few aquariums in the world to have this...
Black Lake (1976) - Pahoo Stay Hungry (1976) - Bubba King Kong (1976) - Sunfish The Shadow of Chikara (1977) - Posey Goin' South (1978) - Hangman Smokey...
biologist who specializes in the study of ocean sunfish. She is known for identifying the ocean sunfish species Mola tecta. Marianne Nyegaard is a PhD...
smallmouth bass, rainbow and brown trout, muskie, bluegill, redear sunfish, walleye, green sunfish, black crappie, channel catfish and bullhead. Good wildlife...
Opahs, also commonly known as moonfish, sunfish (not to be confused with Molidae), kingfish, and redfin ocean pan are large, colorful, deep-bodied pelagic...
species have been described. Teleosts range from giant oarfish measuring 7.6 m (25 ft) or more, and ocean sunfish weighing over 2 t (2.0 long tons; 2.2 short...
Greengill sunfish, a hybrid between a bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) and green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus). Pumpkinseed x bluegill sunfish, a hybrid between...
Other common names include bone shark, elephant shark, sailfish, and sunfish. In Orkney, it is called hoe-mother (contracted homer), meaning "the mother...
Harzhauser, Mathias; Kroh, Andreas; Ćorić, Stjepan (12 June 2009). "A giant early Miocene sunfish from the North Alpine Foreland Basin (Austria) and its implication...
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