Unusual: the world's largest bony fish discovered off the Azores

A giant sunfish was discovered lifeless off the coast of the Azores and was, after a lengthy autopsy, identified as the largest bony fish in the world.

A particularly imposing species

The mole, more commonly called sunfish, is a species of fish in the Molidae family. This one has a rather unusual appearance, resembling the head of a large fish without a tail. This is particularly due to the shape of its caudal fin, which is very atypical.

It is a flat fish in width, ovoid seen from the front with very small pectoral fins compared to the dorsal and anal fins. Its name "moon fish" comes from its discoidal shape which can recall our natural satellite but also from the fact that its skin has the capacity to reflect light and that it tends to swim close to the surface, especially during the night.

This bony fish is one of the largest in the world , measuring on average 1.80m long and up to 3 metres or more high (the largest specimen ever observed measured up to 3.20m in height). This one also has the particularity of growing throughout its life , which can therefore result in truly impressive specimens.

This species of fish is widespread throughout the world, living in tropical and temperate waters where the water temperature is always above 10°C. In France , it is on the Atlantic coast and on the Mediterranean side that these immense fish are most present. Don't panic, however, if you cross his path during a diving session, he is completely harmless.

The world's largest sunfish discovered off the Azores

The mole has few predators, apart from sea lions, orcas or even certain large sharks. Man is also not strictly speaking a major threat to this species, the marketing of its flesh being, for example, prohibited in the European Union . Only certain countries like Japan or Taiwan consider it a delicacy.

However, it happens that some of these fish are caught by mistake in nets or that others consume floating waste, therefore leading to their death. This is how a particularly impressive specimen was discovered lifeless off the coast of the Azores at the end of 2021 by a marine biologist.

After a long autopsy, the scientists who took charge of the carcass of this fish came to the conclusion that this bony fish was the heaviest ever studied. This one had in fact reached a weight of 2,744kg, thus beating by almost 500kg the old world record for a bony fish held by another sunfish captured near Japan in 1996. This weight is comparable to that of a white rhino!

In addition to this record, the discovery of such a large specimen is good news because it means that the marine ecosystem is still healthy enough to support such imposing animals. However, as the cause of his death was probably linked to human activity, it also serves as a reminder of the efforts that we still have to make in terms of the conservation of marine species, many of which are today threatened by the man.