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.

Ordinary moon-fish, or sun fish, or head fish(lat. Mola mola) - 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, whose length was 3.1 m, height - 4.26 m, and weight 2235 kg.

Ordinary moon-fish live in tropical and temperate waters of all oceans. They are found in the pelagial 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. It is the most prolific vertebrate species, with female common moonfish producing up to 300,000,000 eggs at a time. The en 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. Common moonfish are often caught in gillnets.

Taxonomy

The name of the genus and the specific epithet come from the word lat. mola - "millstone". The species was first scientifically described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 as Tetraodon mola. Subsequently, various generic and specific names were repeatedly assigned.

Range and habitat

The sunfish is found in tropical and temperate waters of all oceans. In the eastern part Pacific Ocean 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 Seas. In the western Atlantic, 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. Ordinary moonfish are 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.

Description

Antique depiction of the common moonfish (1838) as Orthragoriscus mola

Ordinary moonfish have a laterally compressed, high and short body, which gives the fish an extremely unusual look for fish. The shape of the body approaches the disk, and its length is approximately equal to the height. The pelvic girdle is reduced. In the process of evolution, the caudal fin disappeared from the moon-fish. It was replaced by a tuberculate pseudo-tail - lat. clavus. This elastic cartilaginous plate is formed by the dorsal and anal fins shifted back and devoid of spiny rays. It is supported by their branched soft rays. This tail plate acts like a paddle. It consists of 12 fin rays and ends in rounded bones.

Gill slits in the form of an oval opening, eyes and mouth are small, pronounced ventral and caudal fins are absent. The pectoral fins, located on the sides of the body, are small and fan-shaped.

The common sunfish has a very short spine relative to body length, smallest number vertebrae among fish - only 16-18, the spinal cord is shorter than the brain (in a fish weighing 1.5 tons and 2.5 m long, the length of the spinal cord is only 15 mm). The bones of the caudal fin are completely absent, and the skeleton is primarily made up of cartilaginous tissue. No swim bladder or lateral line.

Moonfish swim with the help of dorsal and anal fins, pectoral fins act as a stabilizer. To perform a turn, they release a strong jet of water from their mouths or gills. In addition, they are able to maneuver a little by changing the position of the anal and dorsal fins, similar to how birds use their wings for maneuvers.

It is believed that fish moons are able to make grinding sounds with the help of pharyngeal teeth en. The mouth ends in a well-developed beak, characteristic of representatives of the pufferfish order, formed by fused teeth. The "beak" does not allow them to close their mouths tightly.

Skeleton of a common moonfish

The thick and rather rough skin lacks scales and is covered with bony protrusions and mucus. The skin of the tail plate is comparatively softer. A cartilaginous layer 5-7.5 cm thick lies under the skin, so it is difficult to pierce it the first time even with a harpoon. The coloration of adults varies from brown to silvery-gray with a variegated pattern, which in some cases is characteristic of habitats. The dorsal surface of the body is colored slightly darker than the ventral one, which is a kind of contrasting protective coloration characteristic of pelagic fish. In addition, fish moons are able to change color, especially in case of danger.

Some sources state that internal organs fish of this species contain the neurotoxin tetrodotoxin, like other representatives of pufferfish, but other authors refute this information.

Body size and weight

Adult ordinary sunfish reach an average length of 1.8 m, and the distance in height between the tips of the fins is about 2.5 m. The average weight ranges from 247-1000 kg. Larger specimens also come across: the maximum recorded length is 3.3 m, and the height, taking into account the fins, is 4.2 m.

Biology

Moonfish larva 2.7 mm long

Reproduction and life cycle

Moon fish is the most prolific fish: one female can spawn up to 300 million eggs, but her total number is small. The diameter of the eggs is about 1 mm, the hatched larvae of the moonfish are about 2 mm long and weigh less than 0.01 g. individual development like other members of their family, ordinary moon-fish go through a complex metamorphosis. The newly hatched larvae are similar to pufferfish. Upon reaching a length of 6-8 mm, the body stage begins - wide bone plates with large triangular protrusions appear, which are then crushed into small teeth with triangular protrusions, forming long spikes, then completely disappearing. At this stage, there is still a larval caudal fin, which is absent in adult fish. The potentially achievable size of adult moonfish is 60 million times the size at birth - this is highest ratio among vertebrates.

In captivity, common moonfish live up to 10 years, but their lifespan is vivo not installed . Presumably, in males and females, it can be up to 16 and 23 years, respectively. In captivity, weight gain ranges from 0.02-0.49 kg per day, and the increase in length averages 0.1 cm per day. The mass of a young individual living in the Monterey Bay Aquarium increased from 26 kg to 399 in 15 months, while the fish reached a length of 1.8 m. Large size and thick skin make adult moonfish invulnerable to small predators, however, the fry may become prey for tunas and dolphins. On big fish sea ​​lions, killer whales and sharks attack. In Monterey Bay, sea lions have been seen biting off the fins of moonfish 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 moon-fish several times, the sea lions abandoned their prey, and it helplessly sank to the bottom, where it was eaten by starfish.

Nutrition

Despite the hard "beak", the basis of the diet of ordinary moonfish is soft food, although sometimes they eat small fish and crustaceans. The basis of the food of the moon-fish is plankton, as well as salps, ctenophores and jellyfish. In addition, in their digestive tract eel larvae, sponges, starfish, squid, crustaceans, algae and small fish have been found, which suggests that they feed both on the surface and in depth. The food of moonfish is generally poor. nutrients, so they have to absorb it in in large numbers.

Moon-fish swims on its side at the surface of the water

Ordinary moon-fish lead, as a rule, a solitary lifestyle, but sometimes they are found in pairs, and in places of accumulation of animal cleaners they can gather in a group.

You can often see the moon-fish lying on its side on the surface of the water. From time to time, its fins are shown on the surface - sometimes they are mistaken for shark dorsal fins. They can be distinguished by the nature of the movement of the fins. Sharks, like most fish, swim by swinging their tail fin from side to side. In this case, the dorsal fin remains motionless. Moonfish move their dorsal and anal fins like oars

How many interesting things are hidden in the depths of the seas and oceans. And there, too, has its own moon.

moonfish- one of the most amazing sea creatures.

This fish listed in the Guinness Book of Records. The moonfish is YOURSELF:


A little about the title.

The appearance of the fish-moon.

The skin is unusually thick, strong and elastic, covered with small bony tubercles. It is said that even the skin of the ship does not withstand a collision with a “crumb” fish and the paint peels off from it.

The tail is short, wide and truncated.

The dorsal and ventral fins of the moonfish are narrow and long, opposed to each other and shifted far back.

The body gradually tapers towards the anterior part and ends with an elongated round mouth full of teeth fused into a solid plate.

The color of the moon fish is very different - from brown to gray and even white.

In a 200-kilogram fish, the weight of the brain was only 4 grams, from which we can conclude that the moon-fish is absolutely stupid. She almost does not react to the approach of people and can often be hooked with a hook. It is to hook, not to catch, because under the skin devoid of scales there is a very thick and hard fibrous layer. Even the sharp end of the harpoon is not able to pierce it. The harpoon bounces off such armor and the moon-fish continues its leisurely swimming.

Features of behavior.

Young individuals of this species swim like ordinary fish, while adults spend much of their time lying on their sides, near the surface, lazily flipping their fins, exposing them one by one from the water.

"Moon" is a very poor swimmer, unable to overcome a strong current. Therefore, the moon-fish looks extremely apathetic ... Sometimes sailors from the ship can watch how this harmless "monster" sways languidly on the surface of the water.

Moon-fish prefers loneliness, but sometimes they are met in pairs. Despite the fact that even large fish moons cannot cause any harm to humans, in some places off the coast South Africa fishermen experience superstitious fear when they meet this fish, considering it a harbinger of trouble, and hastily return to the shore. This, apparently, is explained by the fact that the "moon" approaches the shores only before bad weather, and fishermen associate its appearance with an impending storm.


Features of nutrition.

Zooplankton serves as food for moon fish.

To eat, the moonfish does not need to actively hunt. Living, as a rule, in an environment rich in plankton, it is limited to sucking in prey that swims within its reach. This is confirmed by studies of the stomachs of fish, in which crustaceans, small squids, leptocephals, ctenophores, fry, larvae and even jellyfish were found. The moonfish also does not disdain plant food.

Where do they live?

Moon-fish most often keeps near the surface of the water, but was also found at a depth of 300 meters. Scientists suggest that the moonfish can reach a fairly large depth.

These heavyweights live in all the seas of the tropical and temperate. Sometimes they are brought to the Black Sea, the Baltic, to the shores of Scandinavia and Newfoundland. These beauties can also be found off the coast of Russia - in the northern part of the Sea of ​​​​Japan and the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe southern islands of the Great Kuril Ridge.

The best place in Asian waters where divers can see this miracle fish is the island of Bali in Indonesia. From July to October, a deep-sea meeting with a marvelous ocean dweller is almost one hundred percent guaranteed.

The moon fish is not particularly shy, and with a certain skill, you can swim up to it almost close. But keep in mind that any careless movement will turn her into a swift flight, amazing for such a heavyweight.

Dangers for the moon fish.

They suffer from the attack of predators - sharks, killer whales, sea lions.

Man also poses a serious danger to this sea ​​creature. In some East Asian countries, where the moonfish is considered a delicacy, it is caught on purpose, while in other places thousands of individuals die simply during industrial fishing for other fish.

Applied in Chinese medicine like a drug. Like the related fugu and abunawka, the tissues of the moonfish contain toxins.

It has no commercial value.

In captivity, sunfish do not adapt well and often die.

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 specimen 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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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. So, in the east of the 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 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 rather short, high and flattened from the sides - this physique gives it unusual view, making it look like a disc. 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 moon fish.
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, in natural conditions 16-23 years.


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.