The Mola Mola is also known as the Ocean Sunfish and it is indigenous to both the tropical and temperate waters of the world. According to National Geographic, there is no other bony fish heavier than this gentle monster, that can measure 14 feet (4.3 meters) vertically, 10 feet (3 meters) horizontally and as an adult can weigh anywhere from 545 to 5,000 pounds. It is very weird looking, as sideways the body is flattened and from the front, it looks like a fish head with just a tail.
A young man and his uncle discover the dead fish near Reed’s Bay, New Jersey.
Edward Briese carries on his family tradition of clamming, and one day a few weeks ago, he was out on the water with some friends and his uncle. It was a normal afternoon until his uncle told him about a very strange dead fish he had seen floating in the same waters not far from where they were. They traveled to the shallower waters where the fish had been sighted and soon came across the enormous monstrosity, missing a few fins and floating in Reed’s Bay.
No one knew what it was exactly.
The group had to do some research to figure out what this creature was but soon discovered that even though they were able to identify it, scientists know very little about this very odd fish.
According to scientist, Rick Bell, “Their actual biology is relatively unknown. Mating, their growth, and migration patterns are not particularly well known.” The Mola Mola is an anomaly, as its bullet-shaped back fin never develops and folds over on itself, resembling a saucer.
What is known about this very strange fish?
The main diet of the Mola Mola is jellyfish, the supply of which is always plentiful in its natural open ocean habitat.
They are continually infested with parasites, which is why these fish often swim to the surface where birds and other critters eat the parasites off their scales. These fish are also unique in the way they develop from birth, when they are so tiny that they are smaller than the head of a pin. They represent no danger to humans and are very gentle creatures, despite their creepy and gargantuan demeanor.
For all those fishermen out there and all those tales about the “one that got away,” this one about the Mola Mola truly tops them all!
