Knowra Ocean sunfish Ocean sunfish The ocean sunfish (Mola mola) is a large marine bony fish with a flattened, disk-shaped body and tall dorsal and anal fins. It often basks near the surface and feeds chiefly on gelatinous animals.
Molidae : A family of large marine fishes with truncated, disk-shaped bodies and reduced tail structures. The ocean sunfish belongs to this family of distinctive, deep-bodied fishes.
Fish locomotion : The ways fish generate thrust and control movement through water. Sunfish propel themselves chiefly by oscillating their dorsal and anal fins.
Bycatch : The unintended capture of animals while fishing for other species. Sunfish are caught incidentally in several fisheries, creating a management concern.
Southern ocean sunfish : A species of ocean sunfish, Mola alexandrini, found in temperate and tropical oceans. It is a close relative often distinguished from Mola mola by anatomical traits.
Population ecology : The study of how populations change in size, distribution, and structure over time. Reliable population estimates remain difficult for a highly mobile, ocean-wide fish.
Tetraodontiformes : An order of ray-finned fishes that includes pufferfishes, triggerfishes, porcupinefishes, and ocean sunfishes. This order supplies the sunfish’s closest broad evolutionary context.
Fish thermoregulation : Physiological and behavioral processes by which fish regulate body temperature. Basking after deep dives helps sunfish warm before returning to cooler depths.
Marine conservation : The protection and sustainable management of marine species, habitats, and ecosystems. Conservation measures address fishing impacts on this widely distributed fish.
Hoodwinker sunfish : A species of ocean sunfish, Mola tecta, described from specimens collected in the Southern Hemisphere. Its recognition showed that apparently familiar sunfish diversity had been underestimated.
Marine heatwave : A prolonged period of unusually warm ocean temperatures in a particular region. Warming may alter prey availability and the thermal conditions sunfish encounter.
Show all 25