Sunfish (Mola mola) stranding at Alabel, Sarangani Province

Last February 6, 2009, the staff of ECPC’s Ecosystem Research Division (from which I am a part of) was prompted to act upon the report of a stranded sunfish, Mola mola (Linnaeus 1758) in the shore of Purok Belong-Belong, Maribulan, Alabel, Sarangani Province. We went as fast as we could, hoping to see the largest bony fish in the world alive. But it was long dead when we arrived.

Stranded sunfish "basking" in the sun.

Coastal residents in the area reported that the huge fish, weighing approximately 250+ kg (it took eight big men to haul it to our vehicle), has been there since around 10:00 p.m. the other night.

Curious children looks over the dead sunfish.

The fish measured 1.97m from the tip of the snout to the tip of the clavus (formed by extensions of the dorsal and anal fin rays), and .95m from the tip of the dorsal fin to the tip of the anal fin. The fish was taken to the center for taxidermy. During taxidermy, a ruptured fist-size cyst was found in the right side of the body of the fish, and a 12-cm remora (a parasitic fish) was also removed along its esophagus (the specimen was also preserved and is on display at the ECPC museum). The entire staff was also amazed after learning that the “bones” of the largest bony fish is cartilaginous, which prompted everyone to conduct further research.

Sunfishes belong to Family Molidae and can be found in temperate waters worldwide. In Sarangani Province, sunfishes were documented to be swimming in and around the Sarangani Bay area. In fact, the center has three (3) preserved specimens of this fish, including the one reported herein. They feed on zooplankton primarily jellyfish, salps, and ctenophores. They are relatively slow swimmers (thus said to be the largest zooplankton) and weighs up to over 900 kg, reaching the height of 11 feet when matured.

Despite their humungous size, sunfishes are gentle and do not pose any threat to human and have a great part in maintaining the balance and diversity in the marine environment.


Source: Australian Museum Fish Site (http://www.austmus.gov.au)
MarineBio (http://marinebio.org/Oceans/StructuresAdaptations.asp)