Description
worldwide in tropical to temperate seas body moderately deep & highly compressed, more or less oblong une grande partie de leur squelette est fait de cartilage mouth tiny 2 tiny nostrils gill openings small, in front of pectoral fins jaws with 2 fused teeth: teeth united and beaklike dorsal and anal fins lacking spines, but provides the power for locomotion caudal peduncle absent pelvic fins absent no lateral line no swim bladder skin leathery and thick slow-swimming, ils nagent surtout à l'aide de leurs nageoires dorsale et anale (using sculling (godille) motions of its long dorsal and anal fins to propel itself through the water), les nageoires pectorales sont probablement des stabilisateurs: small pectoral fins move constantly to control pitch peuvent produire un son en frottant leurs dents pharyngiennes qui sont longues et pointues epipelagic plankton feeders (méduses, salpes) ms également petits poissons et de crustacés dioecism, ovipare, fécondation externe, openwater, nonguarder prejuvenile phase called the "Molacanthus" stage (rounded in shape and develop large pyramidal dermal spines over their bodies) young are spiny and differ markedly from adults
Western Central Pacific	Western Central Atlantic
Identification keys to Mola



Mola alexandrini
fishbase / en.wiki / novataxa / reefdivers / fishesofaustralia	Synonymes Mola ramsayi	Ranzani, 1839 / NE / ITIS 615873

2009 Bali ©mda (via INaturalist)	Mola ramsayi juvvénile, 2016 NSW (Australie) by Peter (via Encyclopedia of Life)	Mola ramsayi juvvénile, 2016 NSW (Australie) by Peter (via Encyclopedia of Life)


NSW (Au) Rob Harcourt (via fishesofaustralia)	2018 by Erik van der Goot (via Wikimedia Commons)	2018 aquarium (Japon) from Newscientist.com (via Wikimedia Commons)
circumglobal	Bumphead sunfish	subtropical
head profile with bump; chin with enlarged bump; rectangular body scales on the middle region of the body (shape developing with age, final shape not established
<300m / <300cm / <2.3t video	video	pélagiq, océanodrome; prefer warmer water temperatures; video
Mola alexandrini

Masturus lanceolatus
fishbase / en.wiki / australianmuseum / fishesofaustralia	Synonymes sharpfin sunfish	Liénard, 1840 / NE / ITIS 173419

2009 aquarium (Lisboa) by Hectonicus (via Encyclopedia of Life)	by NOAA/PIRO Observer Program (via Encyclopedia of Life)	by NOAA/PIRO Observer Program (via Encyclopedia of Life)
worldwide	Sharptail mola	tropical and temperate waters
oval body with an evenly convex forehead profile (prominent chin); eyes are placed more forward on the head than in the genus Mola; dorsal and anal fins similar in shape, positioned far back on body; dorsal and anal fins merge into a clavus (pseudo-tail); skin covered with small dermal denticles finer than those of the ocean sunfish; silvery with the upper parts of the sides grayish brown to blackish; sides may bear ill-defined dark spots; dorsal and anal fins are slate gray, while the clavus may have pale blotches
<670m / 337cm / 2t / 85-105ans (male-females)	video	bathypelagiq, rare
Masturus lanceolatus




Mola mola
fishbase / doris / nationalgeographic / oceansunfish / en.wiki / futura-sciences / ADW / souslesmers / en.wiki2 / fishesofaustralia	Synonymes	Linnaeus,1758 / VU / ITIS 173414

Italy by Simone Carletti (via fishesofaustralia)	2009 by Mark Rosenstein (via Encyclopedia of Life)	2005 by U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (via Wikimedia Commons)


aquarium (DK) ©Biopix by JC Schou (via Encyclopedia of Life)	aquarium (DK) ©Biopix by N Sloth (via Encyclopedia of Life)	2012 by BJ Stacey (via Encyclopedia of Life)


Cerbère (Fr66) by Lauric THIAULT (via fishbase)	2014 Cassis (Fr13) by vranken martin (via fishbase)	2009 Italy by Andrea Peiser (via fishbase)


2005 aquarium (Lisboa) by Nol Aders (via Wikimedia Commons)	2005 Pointe de Penmarch (29) ©Pline (via Wikimedia Commons)	2015 Maine (US) by Brin (via Encyclopedia of Life)


2009 Bali by Ilse Reijs and Jan-Noud Hutten (via Wikimedia Commons)	2012 Galapagos by Edgard Dias Magalhães (via Wikimedia Commons)	2019 Portugal by Rehman Abubakr (via Wikimedia Commons)
océanodrome	Ocean sunfish	(sub)tropical
scaleless, extremely thick, elastic skin; caudal fin is replaced by a rudder-like (gouvernail) structure called 'clavus; pectorals small and rounded, directed upward; video
30-480 / 150-333 cm / 2.3 tonnes / 10ans; video	Females are larger than males; 300,000,000 eggs video	pélagiq (sauf à venir se faire "nettoyer" près surface), solitaire, shy ms qq familière, not common
Mola mola

MàJ 13/03/2023