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The ocean sunfish is

the largest bony fish

species

Bony fish have skeletons of bone, which distinguishes them from cartilaginous fish, whose skeletons are made of cartilage. With their large eyes and relatively small mouth, the ocean sunfish shown here almost looks surprised at its size!

1 The largest ocean sunfish ever measured was over 10 feet across, and weighed

close to 5,000 pounds. On average, ocean sunfish weigh about 2,000 pounds.

This makes them the largest bony fish species.

Bony fish have skeletons of bone, which

distinguishes them from cartilaginous fish,whose skeletons are made of

cartilage. With their large eyes and relatively small

mouth, the ocean sunfish shown here almost looks surprised at its size!

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The ocean sunfish

may also be called

the Mola mola 2

The ocean sunfish's scientific name is Mola mola. ‘Mola‘ is Latin name for millstone,

which is a large, heavy round stone used to grind grain. So, the ocean sunfish's scientific name is a reference

to the fish's disklike shape.

This species may also be called the common sunfish, as here are other species of sunfish that live in the ocean

3 to be exact the slender mola (Ranzania laevis), sharp tailed mola (Masterus lanceolutus)

and southern ocean sunfish (Mola ramsayi).

Ocean sunfish

don't have a tail. 3 When you look at an ocean sunfish, you might notice that it appears that its back end is missing. These fish don't really have a normallooking tail. Instead, they have an appendage called a clavus, which is a result of the fusion of dorsal and anal fin rays. Despite their lack of a powerful tail, ocean sunfish are capable of breaching (leaping) clear of the water!

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Ocean sunfish may

be brown, gray, white

or spotted in color. 4

An ocean sunfish's color can vary From brown to gray or silvery, or even almost white. They may also have spots, like the fish shown here.

The preferred food of

ocean sunfish are

jellyfish. 5

Ocean sunfish like to eat jellyfish and siphonophores (relatives of jellyfish).

They will also eat salps, small fish, plankton, algae,

mollusks, brittle stars.

Ocean sunfish are

found throughout

the world. 6

Ocean sunfish live in tropical and temperate waters, and they may be found in the Atlantic, Pacific, Mediterranean and Indian Oceans. To see an ocean sunfish, you'll likely have to find one in the wild, though, because they are difficult to keep in captivity.

Sunfish may look

Like they're 'playing dead' 7

There are a few theories on why sunfish do this. They may undertake long, deep dives in cold water in search of their favorite prey, and may use the warm sun at the surface to reheat themselves and aid digestion

(research published in 2015 lent more support to this theory). They may also use the warm, oxygen rich surface water to recharge their oxygen stores. And most interestingly, they

may be at the surface to attract seabirds from above or fish frombelow to clean their skin of parasites. Some sources suggest that the waving of the fin is what is used to attract the birds.

Sunfish may spend more time at the

ocean surface at night. 8

From 20052008, scientists tagged 31 ocean sunfish in the North Atlantic in the first study of its kind. This study made many interesting discoveries about ocean sunfish the tagged sunfish

spent more time at the ocean surface during the night than during the day, and spent even more time at depth when they were in warmer water,.

The researchers proposed that this might be due to spending more time at depth looking for food when the fish were in relatively warmer water.

Ocean sunfish are one of the most fertile species

One ocean sunfish was found with an estimated 300 million eggs in her ovary. This is more than ever found in any other vertebrate species. Although sunfish produce lots of eggs, the eggs are tiny, and are basically scattered into the water, so their chances of survival are relatively small. If an egg is fertilized, the embryo grows into a tiny, spiked larvae, that even has a tail. It hatches at about 2mm in size, and eventually the spikes and tail disappear and the sunfish looks like a small adult. 9

Ocean sunfish are not

dangerous to humans. 10

Despite their enormous size, ocean sunfish are harmless to humans. They move slowly, and in fact are likely more threatened by us then we are of them since they are not considered a good food fish in most places, their biggest threats are likely being hit by boats and being caught as bycatch in fishing gear. As far as natural predators, parasites, orcas, and sea lions seem to be the biggest culprits.

Source : http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/mola/ http://baliocean.com/id/mola_mola_facts.php http://marinelife.about.com/od/fish/tp/10FactsAbout OceanSunfish.htm

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