Ocean Sunfish |

Welcome

The giant ocean sunfishes, family Molidae, are some of Earth’s most fascinating yet mysterious creatures. These jelly-eating giants hold the record for being the world’s heaviest bony fish and occupy a unique place in the open ocean web of life. This site is dedicated to consolidating our current state of knowledge and announcing our latest research discoveries and those of others as they become available. Be sure to check out the research section and if you have recently published something on mola or produced a film with mola in it please, do let us know–we’d love to add this information to the site. We are also excited to share a new feature that involves you! If you are certain you have seen a mola, please add your sighting to our growing database by clicking here.
We welcome your comments, suggestions, additions, deletions and hope you enjoy the site. Dive in!

Welcome

The giant ocean sunfishes, family Molidae, are some of Earth’s most fascinating yet mysterious creatures. These jelly-eating giants hold the record for being the world’s heaviest bony fish and occupy a unique place in the open ocean web of life. This site is dedicated to consolidating our current state of knowledge and announcing our latest research discoveries and those of others as they become available. Be sure to check out the research section and if you have recently published something on mola or produced a film with mola in it please, do let us know–we’d love to add this information to the site. We are also excited to share a new feature that involves you! If you are certain you have seen a mola, please add your sighting to our growing database by clicking here.
We welcome your comments, suggestions, additions, deletions and hope you enjoy the site. Dive in!

Image link to Ocean Sunfish Symposium video playlist

Chapter 7: Ocean Sunfish Larval Detections, Identification and Predation. Catalan subtitled version courtesy of Pilar Ciriquián Esguerra.

Read detailed sightings of sunfish near you or contribute your own

If you would like to have a non-watermarked poster please consider making a donation to the Adopt a Sunfish Project for $25. All proceeds go to support our research on these magnificent animals.

The Ocean Sunfishes – Order Now

Evolution, Biology and Conservation
Edited by Tierney M. Thys (California Academy of
Sciences, USA), Graeme C. Hays (Deakin University,
Australia) and Jonathan D. R. Houghton (Queen’s
University, UK).

Help Unravel the Mystery of the Ocean Sunfish

Seen an ocean sunfish? You can help by reporting your sighting. Your sightings can help us understand the behaviors and movements of these amazing creatures…

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Adopt a Sunfish

I’d like to tell you a story about a very special little girl who inspired the creation of the Adopt a Sunfish. Early in 2007, I was serving as a National Geographic expert on a …