BALI MOLA MOLA
(OCEAN SUNFISH)
  
All Photos by Robert Delfs © 2004
KINGDOM: Animalia
PHYLUM: Chordata
Class: Ostyeichthyes
ORDER: Tetraodontiformes
FAMILY: Molidae
GENUS, SPECIES: Mola-Mola
OTHER NAMES: Headfish, Klumpfisch, Maanvis, Manbô, Månefisk, Möhkäkala, Mondfisch, Moonfish, Niffâkha, Opesee-sonvis, Peixe-lua, Peixe-roda, Pesce luna, Pesce mola, Pestele luna, Pez luna, Pez sol, Poisson lune, Samoglów, Sunfish, Mola-Mola Fish, Tunglfiskur
MOLA-MOLA, PELAGIC IN BALI:
Mola in Latin means millstone, which is a rounded, and flat device used for grinding wheat. A fairly accurate depiction of the fish.
On the 13th October 1998, staff at the Australian Museum were called to examine an Ocean Sunfish, Mola-Mola, ( scientifically named by Carolus Linnaeus ) that was found stuck on the bulbous bow of the cement carrier, MV Goliath, as it tied up to the warf in Sydney. The huge fish weighed in at 1400 kg and was removed from the bow by Sydney Waterways Authority. The Mola-Mola became stuck on the bow off Jervis bay, New South Wales and slowed the ship from 14 nots to 11 nots! The skin of the Ocean Sunfish was so rough it wore the paint work right back to the bare metal.
The fish measured 3.1m form the tip of the dorsal fin to the tip of the anal fin and 2.5m from the tip of the snout to the end of the clavus. While it is in its upright position the crucial fin formations are what help the Mola-Mola swim.
The Ocean Sunfish is found worldwide but Bali has an almost yearly sighting, they have definite season but we, BIDP, have recorded them year round. In Australia recordings have come from Sydney, NSW, to Tasmania and West Australia. Ocean Sunfish are usually found in oceanic waters, but occasionally come inshore. Sunfish are often seen near the surface where they can be mistaken for sharks due to the large dorsal fin.
The Mola-Mola is an unusual looking creature. It does not have a caudal ( tail ) fin. Instead it has a clavus, which is formed by extensions of the dorsal and anal fin rays. These take the place of a true tail fin which does not form.. The clavus is broadly rounded and has, low rounded projections called ossicles which make up the margin. Characters which help distinguish this species for the other four members of the family are the number of ossicles and the presence of a definite line at the posterior end of the body where the denticles ( rough scales) on the skin changes from extremely course to very fine. Their skin is usually a tan grey and is composed of collagen fibers up to six inches thick and covered by a layer of mucous.
Mola-Mola Ocean Sunfish are harmless to people, and feed on jelly fish, salps and ctenophores and occasionally small crustaceans and fishes, having a taste for squid.. The teeth in each jaw are fused to form a plate, and the mouth is small in comparison to the body size.
EVOLUTION:
A long time ago, far, far away a strange group of tailess fishes appeared – and the neighbourhood has never been the same since…
 On-going fossil work coupled with genetic sleuthing is slowly revealing the evolutionary history of the magnificent Molidae. Fossil jaw parts of the genus Emola uggest this family descended from coral reef fishes sometime in the late Eocene, roughly some 55 million years ago. Since their first appearance Sunfish have spread into every tropical and temperate ocean.
While the Molidae may appear primitive they are in fact relative latecomers to the fish kingdom. Fishes first emerged over 500 million years ago and the radiation leading to most modern fishes occurred about 100 million years ago.  It took another 50 million years for Molidae to appear. In fact Mola-Molas are thought to be one of the most derived fish groups in the sea.
The Ocean Sunfish belongs to the family Molidae and is one of the four species recorded form NSW waters and the world. The other three are the Southern Ocean Sunfish Mola ramsayi, the Slender Sunfish Ranzania laevis and the Sharptail Sunfish Masturus lanceolatus.
Mola-Mola's occupy the same order (Tetraodontiformes) as do the puffers and porcupine fishes.
The name Tetraodontiformes refers to the four fused teeth that characteristic their beak. While their inflatable relatives can defend themselves by sucking in water and puffing up, Mola-Mola's suck and spit water primarily as a means of manipulating prey items into manageable pieces.  Long claw like teeth in their throat help this process. They are not elated to freshwater sunfish but cosely to the pufferfish.
One always feels good about being ‘ one in a million’ but the Mola-Mola is considered to be one of 300,000,000… eggs that is! Whether or not many of the eggs are fertilized is unknown. The baby Suns are considered to be bathypelagic and are considerably spiny. Once mature, the Mola-Mola's sharp spines will eventually disappear. They grow from being one tenth of an inch to a fully matured fish of 12 feet in length and 14 feet from fin to fin.
The Mola-Mola is developed of high quality protein containing a majority of essential amino acis. The fat content is relatively low, and only half the Mola-Mola's content is water.
SIGHTINGS & BEHAVIOUR:
Sunfish are harmless to people, and feed on jelly fish, salps and ctenophores and occaisionally small crustaceans and fishes, having a taste for squid.. The teeth in each jaw are fused to form a plate, and the mouth is small in comparison to the body size.
 Mola-Mola are the most commonly encountered sunfishes. Typically they are found sculling like a shark with their dorsal fin flapping out of the water or basking on the sea surface often in association with a seagull. Mola-Mola's will actually solicit a seagull’s help in removing external parasites. If however the cleaning gets too rough, the sunfish will simply spit water at its avian assistant and swim out of sight.
Off the Calafornia Coast sunfish are frequently found near floating rafts of dislodged kelp. Under these kelps sunfish demand help from cleaner fishes like half moon Medialuna and Senoritas Oxyjulis. Sunfish can often breach, cleaning the surface by up to 3 body lengths and dive to depths of 600 feet. We have seen this frequently during our Mola-Mola Season in Bali (july-september-october). We presume they do this, once again, to dislodge parasites.
Although uncommon to find this fish in colder temperate oceans, it has been found swimming in Alaska and British Columbia. The only thing restricting the Mola-Mola from higher latitudes is the coldness of the water. Even though Mediterranean climates, Australian, Indonesian currents fall in to this category at certain times of the year it is still a live-able environment for this fish.
Sunfish have few enemies. They are preyed upon by great white sharks, orcas and sea lions. Sea lions attack them viscously throwing them up in to the air. Man, of course is a great harm, they have been hunted for sport, food and their liver oil is of some importance but have never been hunted commercially.
SWIMMING:
When they swim they wave the dorsal & anal fin in unison from side to side and the pectoral fins are constantly going, probably being used as stabilizers. The tail is used as a rudder. In order to steer, the Ocean Sunfish will skirt a strong jet of water out of its mouth or gills. They are lazy swimmers, often letting the currents carry them. Nusa Penida and some of its destination dive spots are perfect hang outs for them. Sometimes the currents carry them in to too cold water where they can die.
BREEDING:
Breeding is likely to take place in tropical to sub-tropical waters. Ocean sunfish are the most fertile of salt water fish. Where and how they mate is a mystery.
PARASITES:
Parasites can offer valuable insights into Mola interspecies associations. For instance, one Mola-Mola parasite is the larval stage of a shark tapeworm so at some point the Mola-Mola most likely falls prey to the shark enabling this parasite to complete its life cycle. Some 40 different genera of parasites have been recorded on a single Mola-Mola.
Masturus lanceolatus do not carry so many parasites and while they dive to great depths, even greater than the common Mola-Mola , they do not appear to engage in sunbathing to the same degree. These Mola-Mola's have larger tails, smoother skin and produce less mucous.
Ranzania laevis (slender mola-mola) never reaches more than a couple of feet in length. They are the most colourful and rarest of the Ocean Sunfish with smoother, thinner skins.
– information donated by Dr. Theiry Ths, PHD, Lisa Wilkinson
– facts from (Norman & Fraser 1949, Fitch 1969, Gladstone 1988, Stanislav 1971,McCann 1961, Love 1991, Tyler & Bannikov 1992)
Ocean Sunfish - Mola-Mola in Bali, Indonesia | 
