The heaviest modern bone fish, living in ocean waters, is the Common moon-fish, a representative of the family of the same-named moon-fish. In some countries, it is also called the sun fish or head fish.

Sunfish very rarely gather in groups of more than two individuals.

Habitat geography

The moon fish lives in the waters of all oceans of tropical and subtropical latitudes; for the time of spawning, fish migrate to tropical waters. Yes, in the east Pacific Ocean This fish lives from Canada to southern regions Peru and Chile, In the Indian Ocean, fish can be found everywhere, up to the Red Sea. In the Atlantic Ocean, they live from the Scandinavian Peninsula to South Africa. They are also found near the Kuril Islands and in the Sea of ​​Japan.

Meet these amazing fish possible at a depth of up to 850 meters. According to scientists, almost 80% of the time these fish are at a depth of about 200 meters, and the rest of the time, they rise to a depth of 10 meters.


Moonfish in the company of divers.
Moon fish in the water column.
Moon fish in the water column.

Appearance

Even looking at the photo of the moon fish, it is difficult to imagine how unusual it looks. Their body is quite short, high and flattened from the sides - this physique gives it an unusual look, making it look like a disk. They do not have a tail fin, and the pelvic girdle is reduced. Instead of the caudal fin and them, there is a "pseudo-tail" - a cartilaginous plate formed by the spinal and cartilaginous fin. The ventral and caudal fins are absent.

The mouth of the moon fish ends in a beak formed by fused teeth. The scales of the fish are absent, and the skin is covered with cat growths and mucus. The color of adult moonfish can be from brown to gray-silver with a variegated pattern - it all depends on the habitat. The average length of adults is about 1.8 m, height can reach 3 m, and weight varies from 250 to 1600 kg.


Moonfish: front view.
A fairly large specimen of the moonfish.
The moon fish is also called the sun fish.

Nutrition and behavior

The basis of the diet of sun fish is: oceanic plankton, salps, ctenophores and jellyfish, in addition, they can eat small fish and crustaceans, eel larvae, sponges, starfish, squid, since this food is not very high in calories, the fish is forced to absorb it in huge sizes. This diet confirms that these fish can feed both on the surface and at depth.

As a rule, these fish live alone, less often in pairs. They are not considered good swimmers because they maximum speed a little over 3 km/h. Moonfish don't live in too warm water If the temperature rises to 12°C, then the fish lose their orientation in space and may even die.

The natural enemies of the moonfish are sea lions, killer whales, and sharks.


Close-up of the head of a moon fish.
Sunfish among smaller fish.
Old fish-moon.

reproduction

The head fish is the most prolific creature in the ocean - in one spawning, the female is capable of spawning about 300 million eggs, about 0.1 cm in diameter. Newborn fry weigh about 0.01 grams and look like blowfish, however time will pass and the size of the fish will increase 60 million times - only these fish have such a huge ratio from birth to adulthood.

The average life expectancy of these fish in captivity is about 10 years. vivo 16-23 years old.


Giant moonfish.
Moon fish in the aquarium.
Moonfish at the surface of the water.
  1. The mass of the brain of this oceanic giant is 4 grams.
  2. If you put all the eggs of the moon fish in a chain, then its length will be about 30 km.
  3. There is a toxin in the body of these fish, so it is undesirable to eat it, and if you eat caviar, milk or liver, this can be fatal.
  4. Moonfish are often kept in captivity, but sometimes these fish die by crashing against the walls of the aquarium.
  5. The spinal cord of the sunfish is shorter than the head length, not more than 15 mm.

Or sleepwalking is a special condition nervous system, in which a sleeping person has a disinhibition of the motor centers in the absence of consciousness control over them. It is manifested by automated actions performed by a person in a dream. During an episode of sleepwalking, the patient gets out of bed and begins to perform various movements from simple walking to complex motor acts such as climbing, balancing, showing miracles of dexterity and strength. Diagnosis is based on a description of the patient's behavior and EEG data. In most cases drug treatment not required, but antidepressants, antipsychotics may be used depending on the complexity of the case.

General information

Somnambulism, or sleepwalking, is a special condition in which a person unconsciously performs complex movements during sleep in full accordance with the dream scenario that he sees at that moment. The disease belongs to a group of sleep disorders that medical literature called parasomnias. A sleeping person experiencing an episode of somnambulism is called a somnambulist.

People far from medicine often call the disease sleepwalking. This is based on the historical misconception that the manifestations of the disease are caused by the energy of moonlight. According to statistics, about 15% of the population the globe experienced at least once in their lives an episode of sleepwalking. This condition is equally common among men and women. The largest number of cases of somnambulism occurs in childhood(4-8 years).

Causes of somnambulism

Somnambulism always appears in the phase of slow sleep, in the first half of the night and is associated with the occurrence of sudden bursts of electrical activity in the brain. Scientists have not yet been able to explain the true mechanisms of sleepwalking. However, there is a hypothesis that to some extent explains the development of this phenomenon. During sleep, in a healthy person, inhibition processes begin to predominate in the brain. Normally, they cover all areas at the same time. With somnambulism, individual neurons exhibit non-standard electrical activity, as a result of which part of the brain structures is disinhibited. That is, it turns out not “full”, but “partial” sleep. At the same time, the sections of the nervous system responsible for consciousness remain "sleeping", and the centers responsible for movement, coordination and subcortical formations begin an independent life.

An example that "partial" sleep is possible is the sentinel's ability to fall asleep while standing. At the same time, the brain is in a state of sleep, and the centers responsible for maintaining balance are in active state. Another example is a mother rocking a restless baby in a cradle. She is able to fall asleep, but her hand will continue to move. In the examples described, such a “partial” falling asleep was determined by the psychological mood, that is, the cerebral cortex purposefully draws up a program for the behavior of lower nervous structures. In the case of sleepwalking, the awakening of certain areas of the brain occurs without the control of the cortex and is due to abnormal electrical activity of individual nerve cells.

In adults, somnambulism can be observed in various neurological diseases: hysterical neurosis, obsessive-compulsive disorder, Parkinson's disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, etc. Provoking factors that contribute to the development of sleepwalking episodes are: severe nervous shock, including positive, prolonged stress throughout the day, chronic lack of sleep (for example, due to insomnia). A loud noise during sleep, a sudden flash of light, bright lighting in the sleeping room, including the full moon, can trigger the partial “awakening” mechanism. That is why people since ancient times associated somnambulism with full moon, since its light in the absence of electricity was one of the main provocateurs of "abnormal" behavior.

People tend to attribute somnambulism to mystical phenomena, surrounding it with an aura of prejudices and myths. In fact, sleepwalking is the result of brain malfunction, in which the processes of inhibition and excitation during sleep are out of balance.

Symptoms of somnambulism

Although somnambulism is called sleepwalking, a wide variety of movements can occur with it, from simply sitting in bed to playing the piano. Usually an episode of sleepwalking begins with the patient sitting up in bed, while his eyes are open, the eyeballs are most often motionless. For the most part, after a few minutes, the somnambulist goes back to bed and continues to sleep. In difficult cases, the sleeping person gets out of bed and starts moving around the house. It can be just aimless walking, while his face has an absent expression, his arms hang limply on the sides of his body, his body is slightly tilted forward, his steps are small. And sometimes a somnambulist is able to perform complex sets of actions, for example, get dressed, open a door or window, climb onto a roof, walk along the eaves of a building, play the piano, look for a book on a bookshelf.

However, for all cases of sleepwalking - from the simplest to the most complex - there are common character traits, which are always present and are diagnostic features. These include: lack of clear consciousness during an episode of sleepwalking; open eyes; lack of emotions; complete absence memories of completed actions after waking up; completion of an attack of sleepwalking with deep sleep.

Lack of clear consciousness. Despite the fact that during sleepwalking a person is able to show such miracles of dexterity that he is never capable of in the waking state, all his actions are automatic and not controlled by consciousness. Therefore, the somnambulist cannot make contact with the person who stopped him, does not respond to questions, is not aware of the danger, and can harm himself or others, depending on the dream scenario.

open eyes. In a person in an episode of sleepwalking, the eyes are always open. This is used to diagnose true somnambulism and attempts to simulate it. The gaze is focused, but "empty", can be directed into the distance. When you try to stand in front of the somnambulist's face, his gaze will be directed through the standing one.

Lack of emotion. Since during sleepwalking the control of consciousness over the process of movement is disabled, there will also be no manifestations of emotions. A person's face is always detached, "meaningless", it does not express fear, even when committing obviously dangerous actions.

Electroencephalogram and polysomnography helps to differentiate true somnambulism from nocturnal seizures in temporal lobe epilepsy. According to the features of the registered brain potentials, the presence or absence of a focus of pathological impulses, which is characteristic of epilepsy, is judged. If signs of epilepsy are detected, the patient is referred for a consultation with an epileptologist.

Treatment of somnambulism

The treatment of somnambulism is a rather complex and controversial issue. In domestic neurology, the following tactics have been adopted in the treatment of parasomnias: if episodes of sleepwalking in children occur rarely (several times a month), are simple in nature (limited to sitting in bed, trying to put on clothes), last no more than a few minutes, do not pose a threat to life and health of the patient, then the expectant technique without the use of drugs is preferable.

In these cases, they are limited to preventive measures aimed at preventing the development of sleepwalking episodes or interrupting them at the very beginning. So, a wet towel placed near the bed in most cases is simple, but in an efficient way awaken the patient at the moment when he got out of bed. An irritant in the form of a temperature effect on the feet causes a rapid disinhibitory effect on the cerebral cortex and the child wakes up. In addition, methods that contribute to the normalization of the psycho-emotional background before bedtime include salt or herbal baths with lavender extract, pine needles; "evening ritual", when going to bed is accompanied by a standard set of actions that are repeated every day (for example, bathing, reading a fairy tale, wishing good night).

With prolonged and often recurring episodes of sleepwalking, which include complex actions and are accompanied by a danger to the life and health of the patient, the use of drug therapy becomes mandatory. Drugs that are used in somnambulism include: antidepressants, antipsychotics, sedatives. The choice of a particular drug depends on the neurological and mental status of the patient.

The treatment of somnambulism, which developed against the background of diseases of the nervous system, is primarily associated with the elimination of the primary factor. For example, removal of a tumor in oncological diseases of the brain, the appointment of antiepileptic drugs for temporal lobe epilepsy, correction of senile dementia in old age.

Forecast and prevention of somnambulism

The prognosis for somnambulism depends on whether it is true or whether it is a manifestation of other diseases of the nervous system. Sleepwalking, which is due to the immaturity of the brain in children, has a favorable course and disappears spontaneously in adolescence. Somnambulism in adults, which developed against the background of a brain tumor, mental illness or epilepsy, depends entirely on the severity of the underlying pathology. The occurrence of episodes of sleepwalking in old age may indicate developing dementia and is unfavorable.

Prevention of somnambulism in children is to create a calm psychological atmosphere in the family, the school team. Positive influence to prevent the occurrence of any form of parasomnia, limiting television viewing before bedtime, preventing children from accessing films and programs containing scenes of violence, cruelty, intimate life. preventive measure, which allows you to prevent the development of episodes of sleepwalking, is the early diagnosis of diseases of the nervous system and psyche.

Moon-fish are amazing and little-studied creatures, striking in their size, appearance and enormous fertility. They belong to a tiny family of only three species: the common sunfish, the sharp-tailed sunfish, and the ranchfish. This family belongs to the order Pufferfish and is related to such species as triggerfish, pufferfish and pufferfish.

Common moonfish (Mola mola).

Moon-fish owe their name to unusual shape body. In the most famous common sunfish, it is almost round; in the knapsack and sharp-tailed sunfish, it is slightly elongated and resembles a melon or a torpedo. At the same time, the body is flattened from the sides, but it does not differ in grace. The edges of the body appear torn and resemble a failed pancake. In all languages ​​of the world, one way or another, there is a pointer to this unusual feature. In most European languages, these creatures are called moon-fish or sun-fish, the Latin name of the species is translated as "millstone", and in Polish this fish is called "self-headed", because it seems that it consists of only one giant head. The body of the moon-fish is indeed greatly shortened, but the most surprising thing is that it lacks main body movements - tail! It is replaced by a blade, devoid of its own muscular system. The body of moon-fish seems to be high due to the highly developed oval-pointed dorsal and anal fins. The pectoral fins, on the other hand, are very small. The eyes are relatively large with a good-natured, stupid expression. The mouth of these fish is also relatively small, sharp teeth form something like jaws, but are unsuitable for chewing hard objects. The skin is very thick, rough to the touch due to the bony plates dotting it, but at the same time elastic.

Although the moon-fish do not shine with beauty and grace, they cannot but arouse admiration. The fact is that these are the largest of all bony fish, second in size only to the whale shark ( cartilaginous fish). The usual size of an adult is 2-3 m in height (since they are longer vertically than horizontally), weight is about 1 ton. In the Guinness Book of Records, a moon-fish measuring 4.2 m in size and weighing 2.3 tons is registered! The only "dwarf" in this family is the knapsacks, only 80 cm long. The coloring of these creatures also emphasizes the resemblance to the moon or millstones. It is gray, sometimes with whitish spots on the sides. Interestingly, moonfish are able to slightly change color: from slate gray to almost white. These fish do not have sexual dimorphism, so outwardly males and females do not differ from each other.

The moonfish's mouth seems tiny in proportion to its huge body.

In the absence of a tail, moonfish are forced to move with the help of fins (in most fish they serve only as rudders), but this method of movement is very inefficient. Making leisurely strokes of their fins, these creatures can swim very slowly, and often even prefer to drift with the flow. Sometimes moonfish swim on their side, but they are probably sick or dying individuals. Despite their colossal size, these fish are very peaceful, phlegmatic and defenseless. They are completely unable to resist the attack of predators, and being attacked, they only passively watch how the aggressor tears their body.

Moon-fish feed on small prey, and as inactive as they are. They feed on jellyfish, ctenophores, salps, small crustaceans and squids. Moreover, they look for food both on the surface of the water and in depth. They can tear into pieces an animal that does not fit in their small mouth, and grind solid food with their pharyngeal teeth. According to some evidence, moonfish meat can be poisonous, probably due to eating poisonous jellyfish and the accumulation of toxins in the muscles of the fish.

A tiny fry of the moon-fish is armed with spikes.

Moonfish do not have special spawning grounds, so they spawn in the same areas where they feed. In terms of fertility, the females of these species are unparalleled: each can sweep up to 300 million eggs! This is an absolute record in the world of fish. The caviar of moonfish is extremely small and floats in the water column (such caviar is called pelagic). Thanks to this, it can be carried by currents over long distances, contributing to the spread of these slow creatures in the vastness of the oceans. Tiny fry hatched from eggs initially have large spines to protect them from predators. However, the young grow very quickly and reach a size of 1.8 m by the age of 15 months. According to observations in captivity, sunfish can live up to 10 years, life expectancy in nature has not been precisely established.

Despite their large size, moonfish have many enemies. Tunas can attack young individuals, killer whales and sharks like to hunt adults. Cases are known when sea ​​lions played with these fish, biting off their fins and tossing their bodies above the water. Men in different parts world refer to the moon-fish in different ways. In Taiwan and Japan, they are considered the greatest delicacy (along with related species puffer fish) and eat all parts of the body. IN European countries fishing for these species is prohibited. And in the tropics, moon fish are not eaten, but they are not protected either. Here they are considered pests that steal bait from hooks, so the fishermen cut off the fins of the caught individuals and doom them to a slow painful death in the abyss of the ocean.

Common moonfish in the Barcelona Aquarium.

In captivity, these fish are extremely rare, because they require large and deep aquariums, moreover, they often get hurt on the walls of containers. Now the aquariums of Osaka, Monterey, Barcelona, ​​Lisbon and Valencia can boast of having these fish in their collection. Moon-fish need protection as amazing and still little-studied representatives of the aquatic fauna.

It is called in Latin Mola Mola, and on English language Ocean Sunfish is a fish that looks like the moon, which gave it its name. She looks like she has only one head instead of a torso, but it's not that simple.

Imagine that an animal weighing 1000 kg has a brain the size of a peanut, weighing only 4 grams!

This explains why this fish is very quiet, calm... and quite stupid.

What does a moon fish look like?

The body is high , strongly flattened laterally , covered with very thick , elastic skin . No coccyx. High dorsal and anal fin. Small mouth . Adults do not have a bladder.

The largest specimen weighs two tons and is 3 meters long!

The moonfish is also probably the most fertile fish in the world. The average female of this species lays about 300 million eggs!

Where does the moon fish live and what does it eat

The moon fish lives rather lonely, swimming freely in the vast expanses of the ocean. Sometimes, however, they gather in groups and swim sideways on the surface of the water, apparently sunbathing in the sun (hence their English title– sunfish

Sometimes these giants accidentally fall into fishing nets and fishermen are forced to lift them aboard with cranes.

Despite their rather formidable appearance, representatives of this species feed on plankton. Also, they do not disdain jellyfish, calamari and eel larvae, and do not miss mollusks. Moonfish can be found in all tropical waters, and despite its size, it is absolutely harmless to humans, and the places of its appearance are often the site of large-scale diving expeditions.


On the other hand, a huge fish poses a serious threat to small boats - a collision with a small yacht going at high speed can end badly for both fish and sailors.

Moon fish caught on Sakhalin

A fish with a record weight of 1,100 kilograms was pulled by a fishing seiner from Sakhalin called “Kuril fisherman” with nets. Russian fishermen worked near the island of Iturup, their main target was pink salmon, and the sunfish turned up by accident.


Photo: Sakhalin.info

Nevertheless, they delivered a rare copy to the base. Since there was no place for it in the cold hold, the fish deteriorated during the passage and loading ashore. She was taken to the dump of the Gidrostroy company, where workers feed and photograph bears. Very quickly, nothing remained of the thousand-kilogram carcass.

The largest size Pisces of the moon

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Moon fish - a species of the genus of moon fish of the family of the same name. These are the heaviest of modern bony fish. Reach a length of three meters. The Guinness Book of Records provides data on an individual caught on September 18, 1908 near Sydney, the length of which was 4.26 m and a mass of 2235 kg.

Ordinary moon fish live in tropical and temperate waters of all oceans. They are found in the pelagic zone at a depth of up to 844 m. They have a laterally compressed disc-shaped body. The dorsal and anal fins are shifted back and form a tail plate. The skin is devoid of scales. The teeth are fused into a "beak". Pelvic fins are absent. The coloration is bluish or grayish-brown. They feed mainly on jellyfish and other pelagic invertebrates.

This is the most prolific species among vertebrates, females ordinary moons fish produce up to 300,000,000 eggs at a time. The fry of this species resemble miniature pufferfish, they have large pectoral fins, a caudal fin and spines that disappear in adulthood. Adult moonfish are quite vulnerable. They are preyed upon by sea lions, killer whales and sharks. In some countries, such as Japan, Korea and Taiwan, their meat is considered a delicacy. In EU countries, there is a ban on the sale of products from fish of the moonfish family.

In fact, the moon fish is completely harmless, because it feeds on jellyfish, ctenophores, small fish, crustaceans and other zooplankton, which, unfortunately, turned out to be next to it. This fish does not know how to swiftly maneuver and swim quickly in pursuit of prey, but only sucks everything edible that is nearby into its mouth-beak.

Because of its rounded outlines, in many languages ​​of the world this unusual creature is called the fish of the moon, or the fish of the sun, because of the habit of basking in the sun, swimming on the surface. The translation of the German name means “floating head”, the Polish one means “lonely head”, the Chinese call this fish “upside down car”. In Latin, the most numerous genus of these fish is called mola, which means "millstone". The similar name of the fish was earned not only by the shape of the body, but also by the gray, rough skin.

Moon fish belong to the order Pufferfish, which includes pufferfish and urchin fish, with which they have much in common. First of all, these are four fused front teeth that form a characteristic non-closing beak, which gave the Latin name to the order - Tetraodontiformes (four-toothed). The family of moon-shaped, or moon-fish, (Molidae) is united unusual view these millstone-like animals. It seems that at the dawn of evolution, someone bit off the fish back bodies just behind the dorsal and anal fins, and they survived and gave birth to an equally strange offspring. Indeed, representatives of this family have fewer vertebrae than other bony fish, for example, the species mola mola - there are only 16 of them, the pelvic girdle is completely reduced, the caudal fin is absent, and instead of it there is a tuberous pseudo-tail.

Zooplankton serves as food for moonfish. This is confirmed by studies of the stomachs of fish, in which crustaceans, small squids, leptocephals, ctenophores and even jellyfish were found. Scientists suggest that the moonfish can reach a fairly large depth.

When moving, all moon fish use very long and narrow anal and dorsal fins, waving them like a bird's wings, while small pectoral fins serve as stabilizers. To steer, fish spit a strong jet of water from their mouths or gills. Despite the love to bask in the sun, moon fish live at a respectable depth of several hundred, and sometimes thousands of meters.

Moonfish are reported to be able to produce sounds by rubbing their pharyngeal teeth, which are long and claw-like.

It is believed that the lifespan of the moonfish can be about a hundred years, but much is still unknown about these amazing creatures, because they do not get along well in aquariums.

The moon fish is found in tropical and temperate waters of all oceans. In the eastern Pacific, these fish are distributed from Canada ( British Columbia) to the south of Peru and Chile, in the Indo-Pacific region - throughout the Indian Ocean, including the Red Sea, and further from Russia and Japan to Australia, New Zealand and the Hawaiian Islands. In the eastern Atlantic, they are found from Scandinavia to South Africa, occasionally entering the Baltic, North and mediterranean sea. In the eastern part Atlantic Ocean Sunfish can be found from the coast of Newfoundland to southern Argentina, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. Genetic differences between individuals living in the northern and southern hemispheres are minimal.

In spring and summer, the population of common moonfish in the northwestern Atlantic is estimated at 18,000 individuals. Large concentrations of small fish up to 1 m long are observed in coastal waters. In the Irish and Celtic Seas, 68 individuals of this species were noted in 2003-2005, the estimated population density was 0.98 individuals per 100 km².

Usually these fish are caught at temperatures above 10 °C. Long stay temperatures of 12°C and below can cause them to become disoriented and sudden death. common moonfish often found in the surface layers of the open ocean; it was believed that this fish swims on its side, but there is a version that this method of movement is typical for sick individuals. It is also possible that in this way the fish warm up the body before diving into cold water layers.

Large size and thick skin make adult moon fish invulnerable to small predators however, juveniles may become prey for tunas and dolphins. On big fish attack, and sharks. In Monterey Bay, sea lions have been seen biting off the fins of moon fish and pushing them to the surface of the water. Probably, with the help of such actions, mammals manage to bite through the thick skin of fish. Sometimes, having tossed the fish to the moon several times, the sea lions refused their prey, and it helplessly sank to the bottom, where it was eaten by starfish.