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Mola mola Giant Sunfish, Headfish, Mola Ocean Sunfish, Moonfish, Ocean Sunfish, Sunfish, Sun-fish

Mola molais commonly referred to as Giant Sunfish, Headfish, Mola Ocean Sunfish, Moonfish, Ocean Sunfish, Sunfish, Sun-fish. Difficulty in the aquarium: suitable for large display tanks (public aquarium or zoo) only. Toxicity: Has a poison harmful to health.

Profilbild Urheber Phil Garner, Southern California Marine Life, USA

Mola Mola, Ocean sunfish 2017


Courtesy of the author Phil Garner, Southern California Marine Life, USA Phil Garner, USA. Please visit www.flickr.com for more information.

Uploaded by Muelly.

Image detail

Profile

lexID:
3256 
AphiaID:
127405 
Scientific:
Mola mola 
German:
Mondfisch 
English:
Giant Sunfish, Headfish, Mola Ocean Sunfish, Moonfish, Ocean Sunfish, Sunfish, Sun-fish 
Category:
Pufferfishes/Globefishes 
Family tree:
Animalia (Kingdom) > Chordata (Phylum) > Actinopterygii (Class) > Tetraodontiformes (Order) > Molidae (Family) > Mola (Genus) > mola (Species) 
Initial determination:
(Linnaeus, ), 1758 
Occurrence:
Straße von Gibralta, Ghana, Eritrea, Barbados, Sudan, Russland, Guadeloupe, El Salvador, Vereinigte Arabische Emirate, Suriname, Djibouti, Benin, Tunesien, West Sahara, Gambia, Sint Eustatius and Saba, the Black Sea, (the) Maldives, Alaska (Western Atlantic), Algeria, American Samoa, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Arabian Sea, Argentina, Ascencion, St. Helena & Tristan da Cunha, Australia, Azores, Bakers Island, Bangladesh, Belize, Bermuda, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada , Central Atlantic, Central Pazific, Chile, China, Christmas Islands, Circumglobal, Clipperton Island, Columbia, Comores, Congo, Cook Islands, Corea, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, East-Atlantic Ocean, Easter Island (Rapa Nui), Eastern Pacific Ocean, Ecuador, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, European Coasts, Fiji, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Galapagos Islands, Grenada, Guam, Guatemala, Gulf of Mexico, Gulf of Oman / Oman, Guyana, Haiti, Hawaii, Honduras, Howland Island, India, Indian Ocean, Indo Pacific, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Johnston Atoll, Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, Line Islands, Madagascar, Madeira, Malaysia, Marschall Islands, Mauritius, Mayotte, Micronesia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Niue, Norfolk Island, North Atlantic Ocean, North Pacific (Ocean), Northeast Pacific Ocean, Northern Mariana Islands, Oceanodromous, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paracel-Islands, Peru, Philippines, Phoenix Islands, Pitcairn Islands, Puerto Rico, Red Sea, Réunion , Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin / Sint Maarten, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, São Tomé e Principé, Saudi Arabia, Scandinavia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Atlantic, South-Africa, South-Pazific, Southeast Atlantic, Spratly Islands, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Tansania, Thailand, The Bahamas, the British Isles, the Canary Islands, the Caribbean, the Cayman Islands, The Chagos Archipelago (the Chagos Islands), the Cocos Islands / Keeling Islands, the Faroe Islands, The Gulf of Guinea, the Ivory Coast, the Mediterranean Sea, the Netherlands Antilles, the Seychelles, Togo, Tokelau, Tonga, Trindade and Martim Vaz, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, United States Minor Outlying Islands, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Virgin Islands, U.S., Wake Atoll, Wallis and Futuna, West-Atlantic Ocean, Western Indian Ocean, Western Pacific Ocean, Yemen 
Sea depth:
30 - 800 Meter 
Size:
up to 157.48" (400 cm) 
Weight:
2.3 t 
Temperature:
42.8 °F - 86 °F (6°C - 30°C) 
Food:
Crabs, Crustaceans, Fish (little fishes), Jellyfish, Sea urchins, Starfishs, Zooplankton 
Difficulty:
suitable for large display tanks (public aquarium or zoo) only 
Offspring:
Not available as offspring 
Toxicity:
Has a poison harmful to health 
CITES:
Not evaluated 
Red List:
Vulnerable (VU) 
Related species at
Catalog of Life:
 
More related species
in this lexicon:
 
Author:
Publisher:
Meerwasser-Lexikon.de
Created:
Last edit:
2021-02-02 10:06:23 

Toxicity

This is a general hint!
Mola mola has a harmful toxin.
As a rule, animals with a harmful poison do not pose mortal danger in normal Aquarieaner everyday life. Read the following husbandry information and comments from aquarists who already keep Mola mola in their aquarium to get a better picture about the possible danger. However, please be careful when using Mola mola. Every human reacts differently to poisons.
If you suspect that you have come into contact with the poison, please contact your doctor or the poison emergency call.
The phone number of the poison emergency call can be found here:
[overview_and_url_DE]
Overview Worldwide: eapcct.org

Info

Mola mola (Linnaeus, 1758)

Mola mola, also called the moon- or sunfish, a representative of the open ocean and found in all oceans around the globe. From the edge of the Arctic Circle to South Africa, from the south coast of Australia and New Zealand to Alaska in the north, there are sightings. The only exceptions are the waters around South America, so far there are no sightings.

The name Mola mola means "milestone" and he is in the world of fishes a real milestone. With up to 4 meters in length certainly not be overlooked and yet is rarely found in the open ocean. Absolutely peaceful and yet impressive, once you get him to see, this is certainly a memorable moment.

Certainly not an aquarium fish, with his size certainly no wonder. Also in very large display aquariums it should be, if at all, rarely or not at all found.

hma

Synonymised names:
Aledon capensis Castelnau, 1861 · unaccepted
Aledon storeri Castelnau, 1861 · unaccepted
Cephalus brevis Shaw, 1804 · unaccepted
Cephalus ortagoriscus Risso, 1827 · unaccepted
Cephalus pallasianus Shaw, 1804 · unaccepted
Diodon carinatus Mitchill, 1828 · unaccepted
Diodon mola Pallas, 1770 · unaccepted
Diodon nummularis Walbaum, 1792 · unaccepted (synonym)
Diplanchias nasus Rafinesque, 1810 · unaccepted
Mola aculeata Koelreuter, 1766 · unaccepted (synonym)
Mola aspera Nardo, 1827 · unaccepted
Mola hispida Nardo, 1827 · unaccepted
Mola rotunda Cuvier, 1797 · unaccepted
Molacanthus pallasii Swainson, 1839 · unaccepted
Orthagoriscus analis Ayres, 1859 · unaccepted (synonym)
Orthagoriscus mola · unaccepted (misspelling)
Orthragoriscus analis Ayres, 1859 · unaccepted
Orthragoriscus blochii Ranzani, 1839 · unaccepted
Orthragoriscus elegans Ranzani, 1839 · unaccepted
Orthragoriscus fasciatus Bloch & Schneider, 1801 · unaccepted
Orthragoriscus ghini Ranzani, 1839 · unaccepted
Orthragoriscus hispidus Bloch & Schneider, 1801 · unaccepted
Orthragoriscus lunaris Gronow, 1854 · unaccepted
Orthragoriscus mola (Linnaeus, 1758) · unaccepted
Orthragoriscus redi Ranzani, 1839 · unaccepted
Orthragoriscus retzii Ranzani, 1839 · unaccepted
Orthragoriscus rondeletii Ranzani, 1839 · unaccepted (synonym)
Orthragoriscus rondeletti Ranzani, 1839 · unaccepted
Orthragus luna Rafinesque, 1810 · unaccepted
Ozodura orsini Ranzani, 1839 · unaccepted
Pedalion gigas Guilding, 1838 · unaccepted
Tetraodon mola Linnaeus, 1758 · unaccepted (synonym)
Trematopsis willugbei Ranzani, 1839 · unaccepted
Tympanomium planci Ranzani, 1839 · unaccepted

Scientific paper

  1. Ecology of the Ocean Sunfish, Mola mola, in the southern California Current System, Thys, Tierney M.; Ryan, John P.; Dewar, Heidi; Perle, Christopher R.; Lyons, Kady; O'Sullivan, John; Farwell, Charles; Howard, Michael J.; Weng, Kevin C.; Lavaniegos, Bertha E.; Gaxiola-Castro, Gilberto; Miranda Bojorquez, Luis Erasmo; Hazen, Elliott L.; Bograd, Steven J. , 2015
  2. Essential, trace and toxic element concentrations in the liver of the world’s largest bony fish, the ocean sunfish (Mola mola), Perrault, Justin R.; Buchweitz, John P.; Lehner, Andreas F. , 2014
  3. Killer whale Orcinus orca predation on sunfish Mola mola, Ryan, Conor; Holmes, J.M.C. , 2012
  4. Vertical movement and behavior of the ocean sunfish, Mola mola, in the northwest Atlantic, Inga F. Potter; W. Huntting Howell, 2011
  5. Horizontal movement of ocean sunfish,Mola mola, in the northwest Atlantic, Inga F. Potter; Benjamin Galuardi; W. Huntting Howell, 2011
  6. Ocean sunfìsh (Mola mola (L.)) stranded at Old Head Quay, Louisburg, Co. Mayo, Thomas J. E. Murphy and Declan T. G. Quigley, 2010
  7. Satellite tracking the world's largest jelly predator, the ocean sunfish, Mola mola, in the Western Pacific, H. Dewar; T. Thys; S.L.H. Teo; C. Farwell; J. O'Sullivan; T. Tobayama; M. Soichi; T. Nakatsubo; Y. Kondo; Y. Okada; D.J. Lindsay; G.C. Hays; A. Walli; K. Weng; J.T. Streelman; S.A. Karl, 2010
  8. The biology and ecology of the ocean sunfishMola mola: a review of current knowledge and future research perspectives, Edward C. Pope; Graeme C. Hays; Tierney M. Thys; Thomas K. Doyle; David W. Sims; Nuno Queiroz; Victoria J. Hobson; Lukas Kubicek; Jonathan D. R. Houghton, 2010
  9. Retinal topography of ganglion cells in immature ocean sunfish,Mola mola, Masakatsu Kino; Taeko Miayzaki; Tetsuo Iwami; Jun Kohbara, 2009
  10. Long-Term GPS Tracking of Ocean Sunfish Mola mola Offers a New Direction in Fish Monitoring, Sims, David W.; Queiroz, Nuno; Humphries, Nicolas E.; Lima, Fernando P.; Hays, Graeme C.; Ropert-Coudert, Yan , 2009
  11. Satellite tracking of the World's largest bony fish, the ocean sunfish (Mola mola L.) in the North East Atlantic, David W. Sims; Nuno Queiroz; Thomas K. Doyle; Jonathan D.R. Houghton; Graeme C. Hays, 2009
  12. Adult Emperor angelfish (Pomacanthus imperator) clean Giant sunfishes (Mola mola) at Nusa Lembongan, Indonesia, N. Konow; R. Fitzpatrick; A. Barnett, 2006
  13. Peripheral nervous system of the ocean sunfishMola mola(Tetraodontiformes: Molidae), Masanori Nakae; Kunio Sasaki, 2006
  14. Five additional records of fishes in the Gulf of Aqaba, including Mola mola (Forskål, 1775), new for the Red Sea, Khalaf, Maroof A., 2005
  15. Microsatellites from the world's heaviest bony fish, the giant Mola mola, J. Todd Streelman; C. Puchulutegui; A. L. Bass; T. Thys; H. Dewar; S. A. Karl, 2003
  16. Evidence for a Prehistoric Mola mola Fishery On the Southern California Coast, JUDITH F. PORCASI and SHERRI L. ANDREWS, 2001
  17. Predation by White SharksCarcharodon carcharias(Chondrichthyes: Lamnidae) Upon Chelonians, with New Records from the Mediterranean Sea and a First Record of the Ocean SunfishMola mola(Osteichthyes: Molidae) as Stomach Contents, Ian K. Fergusson; Leonard J.V. Compagno; Mark A. Marks, 2000
  18. ChemInform Abstract: Study on the Bile Salts from Sunfish, Mola mola L. Part 1. The Structures of Sodium Cyprinol Sulfates, the Sodium Salt of a New Bile Acid Conjugated with Taurine, and a New Bile Alcohol and Its New Sodium Sulfates., H. ISHIDA; H. NAKAYASU; H. MIYAMOTO; H. NUKAYA; K. TSUJI, 1998
  19. ‘Plywood’ structure and mineralization in the scales of the ocean sunfishes, Mola mola and M. ramsayi, R.W. Gauldie, 1992
  20. Sunfish Mola mola L, Jeremy Dorman, 1991
  21. Mola Mola, Bill Roorbach, 1990
  22. Species Associated with a Sunfish Mola mola (L.) from the West Coast of Ireland, Thomas Cooper, David McGrath and Brendan O'Connor, 1982
  23. The integument of the ocean sunfish ( Mola mola L.) (Plectognathi) with observations on the lesions from two ectoparasites, Capsula martinierei (Trematoda) and Philorthagoriscus serratus (Copepoda), Logan, V. H.; Odense, P. H. , 1974
  24. Records of the ocean sunfish,Mola mola, from the beaches of South Carolina and adjacent waters, William D. Anderson, Jr. and David M. Cupka, 1973
  25. 7-Methyl-7-hexadecenoic acid: Isolation from lipids of the ocean sunfishMola mola(Linnaeus) 1758, R. G. Ackman; L. Safe; S. N. Hooper; M. Paradis; S. Safe, 1973
  26. Distribution oftrans-6-hexadecenoic acid, 7-methyl-7-hexadecenoic acid and common fatty acids in lipids of the ocean sunfishMola mola, S. N. Hooper; M. Paradis; R. G. Ackman, 1973
  27. Species of Lepeophtheirus (Copepoda, Caligidae) Recorded from the Ocean Sunfish ( Mola mola ) and their Implications for the Caligid Genus Dentigryps, Hewitt, G. C., 1971
  28. The oncomiracidium of Capsala martinieri, a monogenean parasite of the sun fish (Mola mola), Kearn, G. C., 1963
  29. A Description of Tricotyla molae (Blanchard), with a Discussion of the Monogenetic Trematodes of the Sunfish (Mola mola L.), Emmett W. Price, 1962
  30. Parasites of a Sunfish, Mola Mola, from the Irish Coast, J. P. Hillis and C. E. O'Riordan, 1960
  31. Occurrences of the Ocean Sunfish, Mola mola (Linnaeus), in Texas, Robert J. Kemp, Jr., 1957
  32. A record of trematode parasites from Mola mola and Raniceps raninus (Linn.), Crofton, H. Draper, 1941
  33. Accacladium nematulum n. sp., a Trematode from the Sunfish Mola Mola, Alden E. Noble and Glenn A. Noble, 1937
  34. Notes on the Anatomy and Relationships of the Ocean Sunfish (Mola mola), William K. Gregory and Henry C. Raven, 1934
  35. On the Occurrence and Habits of Ocean Sunfish (Mola mola) in Monterey Bay, California, George S. Myers and Joseph H. Wales, 1930
  36. Larval Cestodes (Tetrarhynchus elongatus Rudolphi) in the Liver of the Pelagic Sunfish (Mola mola) Collected at Woods Hole, Mass, Edwin Linton, 1928

External links

  1. FishBase (multi). Abgerufen am 07.08.2020.
  2. Watch rare footage of 2 mini mola swimming together off Canada's Pacific coast (en). Abgerufen am 22.11.2023.

Pictures

Commonly

Mola mola (c) by Alexander Semenov
1
Ocean Sunfish,Mola mola, Diving McAbee Beach and Pt. Pinos 2020
Holy Mola mola! It's an Ocean Sunfish, McAbee Pinnacle 2023
Mola Mola, Ocean sunfish 2017
Ocean Sunfish (Mola mola),Monterey Bay 2017

Husbandry know-how of owners

derhirrsch
@derhirrsch

am 31.01.11#2
Im Aquarium in Palma habe ich diesen tollen Fisch auch schon gesehen.
Markus Köchle
@Markus Köchle

am 11.07.10#1
Hallo Heinz,

so selten kommt der in großen Schauaquarien gar nicht vor, ich weiß z.B. von Exemplaren in Lissabon und Valencia

Grüße

Markus
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