WoRMS

(of Tetraodon mola Linnaeus, 1758) Linnaeus, C. (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Editio decima, reformata [10th revised edition], vol. 1: 824 pp. Laurentius Salvius: Holmiae. , available online at https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/726886 [details] Available for editors

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Descriptive notes

Description It often drifts at the surface while lying on its side, or swims upright and so close to the surface that the dorsal fin...

Description It often drifts at the surface while lying on its side, or swims upright and so close to the surface that the dorsal fin projects above the water. Sometimes reaches depths of up to 300 m (Ref. 9317). Feeds on animal plankton, eel larvae, small deep-sea fishes; also on jellyfish, crustaceans, molluscs, and brittlestars (Ref. 4925). In Guiness Book of Records it was recorded as the heaviest bony fish and as the one with the most eggs (Ref. 6472). Also occasionally caught with encircling nets (Ref. 9119) and harpoon (Ref. 9988). Mola is the latin word for millstone. Utilized fresh and can be broiled (Ref. 9988). [details]

Distribution Newfoundland to Argentina

Distribution Newfoundland to Argentina [details]

Taxonomic citation

Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. (2024). FishBase. Mola mola (Linnaeus, 1758). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=127405 on 2024-04-24

Taxonomic edit history

Date

action

2004-12-21 15:54:05Z

created

van der Land, Jacob

2008-01-15 17:27:08Z

changed

Bailly, Nicolas

2021-12-07 22:23:16Z

changed

Bailly, Nicolas

Licensing

The webpage text is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License

[taxonomic tree]

original description (of Mola aculeata Koelreuter, 1766) Koelreuter, J.G. (1763). Piscium rariorum e Museo Petropolitano exceptorum descriptiones. Novi Comment. Acad. Sci. Imp. Petropol. 8:337-430. 1 pl. [details]

original description (of Tetraodon mola Linnaeus, 1758) Linnaeus, C. (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Editio decima, reformata [10th revised edition], vol. 1: 824 pp. Laurentius Salvius: Holmiae. , available online at https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/726886 [details] Available for editors

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original description (of Diodon mola Pallas, 1770) Pallas, P. S. (1770). Spicilegia Zoologica quibus novae imprimis et obscurae animalium species iconibus, descriptionibus atque commentariis illustrantur. Berolini, Gottl. August. Lange. v. 1 (fasc. 8): 1-56, Pls. 1-5. [Also v. 1 (fasc. 7), 1769, pp. 1-42, Pls. 1-6.]., available online at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/27817654
page(s): 39, Pl. 4 (fig. 7) [details]

original description (of Diodon nummularis Walbaum, 1792) Walbaum, J. J. (1792). Petri Artedi sueci genera piscium. In quibus systema totum ichthyologiae proponitur cum classibus, ordinibus, generum characteribus, specierum differentiis, observationibus plurimis. Redactis speciebus 242 ad genera 52. Ichthyologiae pars III. Ant. Ferdin. Rose, Grypeswaldiae [Greifswald]. Part 3: [i-viii] + 1-723, Pls. 1-3.
page(s): 600 [details]

original description (of Mola rotunda Cuvier, 1797) Cuvier, G. (1798). Tableau élémentaire de l'histoire naturelle des animaux. Baudoin, Paris. i-xvi, 1-710, Pl. 1-14. [pdf is for copepods :449-456]., available online at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/11637076
page(s): 324 [details]

original description (of Aledon capensis Castelnau, 1861) Castelnau, F. L. (1861). Mémoire sur les poissons de l'Afrique australe. Paris. i-vii + 1-78., available online at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/1722840#page/9/mode/1up [details]

original description (of Aledon storeri Castelnau, 1861) Castelnau, F. L. (1861). Mémoire sur les poissons de l'Afrique australe. Paris. i-vii + 1-78., available online at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/1722840#page/9/mode/1up [details]

original description (of Cephalus brevis Shaw, 1804) Shaw, G. (1804). General zoology or systematic natural history . [see Shaw 1803, ref. 4014]. v. 5 (pt 1): i-v + 1-250, Pls. 93-132, and (pt 2): i-vi + 251-463, Pls. 132-182.
page(s): 437, Pl. 175 [details]

original description (of Cephalus pallasianus Shaw, 1804) Shaw, G. (1804). General zoology or systematic natural history . [see Shaw 1803, ref. 4014]. v. 5 (pt 1): i-v + 1-250, Pls. 93-132, and (pt 2): i-vi + 251-463, Pls. 132-182.
page(s): 440 [details]

original description (of Diplanchias nasus Rafinesque, 1810) Rafinesque, C. S. (1810). Caratteri di alcuni nuovi generi e nuove specie di animali e piante della sicilia, con varie osservazioni sopra i medisimi. Per le stampe di Sanfilippo: Palermo, Italy. pp. 105, 20 fold. Pl., available online at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/47825964
page(s): 17 [details]

original description (of Orthragoriscus analis Ayres, 1859) Ayres, W. O. (1859). [Descriptions of fishes.]. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences (Series 1). v. 2 (1858-1862): 25-32. [Read at meeting of 17 Oct. 1859, assume published in 1859. Accompanying figures 4-10, pp. 54-59, published in 1860.]. [details]

original description (of Orthragoriscus fasciatus Bloch & Schneider, 1801) Bloch, M.E.; Schneider, J.G. (1801). M.E. Blochii, Systema Ichthyologiae iconibus cx illustratum. Post obitum auctoris opus inchoatum absolvit, correxit, interpolavit Jo. Gottlob Schneider, Saxo. Berolini. Sumtibus Auctoris Impressum et Bibliopolio Sanderiano Commissum. Pp i-lx + 1-584, Pls. 1-110., available online at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/5750#/summary
page(s): 511 [details]

original description (of Orthragoriscus hispidus Bloch & Schneider, 1801) Bloch, M.E.; Schneider, J.G. (1801). M.E. Blochii, Systema Ichthyologiae iconibus cx illustratum. Post obitum auctoris opus inchoatum absolvit, correxit, interpolavit Jo. Gottlob Schneider, Saxo. Berolini. Sumtibus Auctoris Impressum et Bibliopolio Sanderiano Commissum. Pp i-lx + 1-584, Pls. 1-110., available online at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/5750#/summary
page(s): 511 [details]

original description (of Orthragus luna Rafinesque, 1810) Rafinesque, C. S. (1810). Caratteri di alcuni nuovi generi e nuove specie di animali e piante della sicilia, con varie osservazioni sopra i medisimi. Per le stampe di Sanfilippo: Palermo, Italy. pp. 105, 20 fold. Pl., available online at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/47825964
page(s): 17 [details]

original description (of Orthagoriscus analis Ayres, 1859) Ayres, W. O. (1859). [Descriptions of fishes.]. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences (Series 1). v. 2 (1858-1862): 25-32. [Read at meeting of 17 Oct. 1859, assume published in 1859. Accompanying figures 4-10, pp. 54-59, published in 1860.]. [details]

context source (Deepsea) Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO. The Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS), available online at http://www.iobis.org/ [details]

context source (HKRMS) ERM. (1998). Fisheries resources and fishing operations in Hong Kong waters. Final report. Submitted to Agriculture & Fisheries Department, The Hong Kong SAR Government. [details]

context source (Bermuda) Smith-Vaniz, W. F.; Collette, B. B.; Luckhurst, B. E (1999). Fishes of Bermuda: History, zoogeography, annotated checklist, and identification keys (American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists - Special Publication No.4) . ASIH, 424 pp. [details]

context source (PeRMS) Chirichigno, N.; Cornejo, M. (2001). Catálogo comentado de los peces marinos del Perú. 2ª ed. Instituto del Mar de Perú. Publicación Especial. Callao. 314 p. [details]

basis of record van der Land, J.; Costello, M.J.; Zavodnik, D.; Santos, R.S.; Porteiro, F.M.; Bailly, N.; Eschmeyer, W.N.; Froese, R. (2001). Pisces, in: Costello, M.J. et al. (Ed.) (2001). European register of marine species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification. Collection Patrimoines Naturels, 50: pp. 357-374 (look up in IMIS) [details]

additional source Robins, C. R.; Ray, G. C.; Douglass, J.; Freund, R. (1986). A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Co. Boston. 1-354. [details]

additional source Muller, Y. (2004). Faune et flore du littoral du Nord, du Pas-de-Calais et de la Belgique: inventaire. [Coastal fauna and flora of the Nord, Pas-de-Calais and Belgium: inventory]. Commission Régionale de Biologie Région Nord Pas-de-Calais: France. 307 pp., available online at http://www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/145561.pdf [details]

additional source King, C.M.; Roberts, C.D.; Bell, B.D.; Fordyce, R.E.; Nicoll, R.S.; Worthy, T.H.; Paulin, C.D.; Hitchmough, R.A.; Keyes, I.W.; Baker, A.N.; Stewart, A.L.; Hiller, N.; McDowall, R.M.; Holdaway, R.N.; McPhee, R.P.; Schwarzhans, W.W.; Tennyson, A.J.D.; Rust, S.; Macadie, I. (2009). Phylum Chordata: lancelets, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals. in: Gordon, D.P. (Ed.) (2009). New Zealand inventory of biodiversity: 1. Kingdom Animalia: Radiata, Lophotrochozoa, Deuterostomia. pp. 431-554. [details]

additional source McEachran, J. D. (2009). Fishes (Vertebrata: Pisces) of the Gulf of Mexico, Pp. 1223–1316 in: Felder, D.L. and D.K. Camp (eds.), Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Biodiversity. Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas. [details]

additional source Liu, J.Y. [Ruiyu] (ed.). (2008). Checklist of marine biota of China seas. China Science Press. 1267 pp. (look up in IMIS) [details] Available for editors

[request]

additional source Linnaeus, C. (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Editio decima, reformata [10th revised edition], vol. 1: 824 pp. Laurentius Salvius: Holmiae. , available online at https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/726886
page(s): 334 [details] Available for editors

[request]

additional source Fricke, R., Eschmeyer, W. N. & Van der Laan, R. (eds). (2024). ECoF. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: Genera, Species, References. California Academy of Sciences. San Francisco. Electronic version accessed dd mmm 2024., available online at http://researcharchive.calacademy.org/research/Ichthyology/catalog/fishcatmain.asp [details]

additional source Froese, R. & D. Pauly (Editors). (2023). FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. version (02/2023)., available online at https://www.fishbase.org [details]

ecology source Looby, A.; Erbe, C.; Bravo, S.; Cox, K.; Davies, H. L.; Di Iorio, L.; Jézéquel, Y.; Juanes, F.; Martin, C. W.; Mooney, T. A.; Radford, C.; Reynolds, L. K.; Rice, A. N.; Riera, A.; Rountree, R.; Spriel, B.; Stanley, J.; Vela, S.; Parsons, M. J. G. (2023). Global inventory of species categorized by known underwater sonifery. Scientific Data. 10(1). (look up in IMIS), available online at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-023-02745-4 [details]

Present

Present in aphia/obis/gbif/idigbio

Inaccurate

Introduced: alien

Containing type locality

From other sources

Diet Feeds on fishes, mollusks, zooplankton, jellyfish, crustaceans and brittle stars [details]

Distribution Newfoundland to Argentina [details]

Habitat Found in warm and temperate seas, often drifting on the surface. [details]

Habitat nektonic [details]

Habitat Known from seamounts and knolls [details]

Importance Scientific- Minor commercial, considered a delicacy in Japan, Chinese medicine [details]

Predators Bony fishes, sharks and rays [details]

Reproduction external reproduction [details]

Language	Name
Albanian	peshku hënëpeshkahanahana	[details]
Breton	mouldouz [from synonym]loar [from synonym]	[details]
Danish	klumpfisk	[details]
Dutch	maanvis	[details]
English	sun-fishsunfishocean sunfishGiant sunfishCommon sunfish	[details]
French	poisson-lunemole communmôlemole	[details]
German	Mondfisch	[details]
Hebrew	דג שמש ענק	[details]
Japanese	マンボウ	[details]
Modern Greek (1453-)	Φεγγαρόψαρο	[details]
Norwegian Bokmål	månefisk	[details]
Norwegian Nynorsk	månefisk	[details]
Russian	рыба-солнцерыба-головаОбыкновенная луна-рыба	[details]
Spanish	mola	[details]
Swedish	klumpfisk	[details]
Turkish	pervane baligiayi baligi	[details]
Welsh	pysgodyn haul	[details]