Moon Pisces Genus. Pisces moons (lat.

Having met this fish in the ocean, you can be seriously scared. Still - a whopper 3-5 meters long and weighing several tons is able to inspire fear with its size and completely implausible appearance.

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 a moon fish, or a sun fish, because of the habit of basking in the sun, swimming on the surface. The translation of the German name means "floating head", Polish - "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.

Indeed, representatives of this family of vertebrae have fewer vertebrae than other bony fish, for example, the mola mola species has only 16 of them, the pelvic girdle is completely reduced, the caudal fin is absent, and instead of it there is a bumpy pseudo-tail. The family Molidae includes three genera and five species of sunfish:

Sharptail moonfish, Sharptail mola, Masturus lanceolatus Masturus oxyuropterus

Ocean sunfish, Mola mola Southern sunfish, Mola ramsayi

Slender sunfish, Slender sunfish, Ranzania laevis.

Almost all representatives of the moonfish family live in tropical, subtropical, and sometimes temperate waters. All of them reach large sizes and have a rounded, laterally compressed head and body shape. They have rough skin, no tail bones, and a skeleton composed mostly of cartilage. Moonfish do not have bony plates in their skin, but the skin itself is thick and dense, like cartilage. They are painted in brown, silver-gray, white, sometimes with patterns, colors. These fish lack a swim bladder, which disappears in the early stages of larval development.

Moonfish are the largest of the bony fish. The largest measured mola mola was 3.3 m long and weighed 2.3 tons. There are reports that they caught fish that reached a length of more than five meters. In the process of development from larvae to adults, all sunfish go through several stages of development, and all forms are completely different from each other. The larvae that have hatched from the eggs resemble pufferfish, then wide bone plates appear on the body of the grown larvae, which are later preserved only in fish of the genus Ranzania, in the mole and masturus, the protrusions on the plates gradually turn into sharp long spikes, which then disappear. The caudal fin and swim bladder gradually disappear, and the teeth merge into a single plate.

Moon fish - (lat. Mola mola), translated from Latin as a millstone. This fish can be over three meters long and weigh about one and a half tons. The largest specimen of the moonfish was caught in New Hampshire, USA. Its length was five and a half meters, data on weight are not available. In shape, the body of the fish resembles a disk, it was this feature that gave rise to the Latin name.

The most studied moonfish of the genus Mola. Fish of the genus Masturus are very similar to mola mola, but they have an elongated pseudo-tail and the eyes are more forward. There was an opinion that these fish are anomalous mola, which left the larval tail, but studies have shown that in the process of fish growth, pseudo-tail rays appear after the reduction of the larval tail. Representatives of the genus Ranzania are somewhat different from other moonfish, which reach a small size of 1 m and have a flatter and elongated body shape.

When moving, all moonfish 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.

In 1908, this moon fish was caught 65 kilometers off the coast of Sydney, it became entangled in the propellers of the Fiona steamer, which prevented the ship from moving on. At the time, it was the largest moonfish ever caught, measuring 3.1m long and 4.1m wide. Photo: danmeth

Moon-fish are champions in the number of spawned eggs, one female is able to lay several hundred million eggs. Despite such fertility, the number of these extraordinary fish is declining. In addition to natural enemies that prey on larvae and adults, the moonfish population is threatened by humans: in many Asian countries they are considered curative and their large-scale capture is carried out, although there is evidence that the meat of these fish contains toxins, like hedgehogs and pufferfish , and in the internal organs there is a poison tetrodotoxin, like in puffer fish.

The moonfish has thicker skin. It is elastic, and its surface is covered with small bony protrusions. Fish larvae of this species and juveniles swim in the usual way. Adult large fish swim on their side, quietly moving their fins. They seem to lie on the surface of the water, where they are very easy to notice and catch. However, many experts believe that only sick fish swim in this way. As an argument, they cite the fact that the stomach of fish caught on the surface is usually empty.

Compared to other fish, the moonfish swims poorly. She is unable to fight the current and often swims at the behest of the waves, without a purpose. This is observed by sailors, noticing the dorsal fin of this clumsy fish.

In the Atlantic Ocean, moonfish can reach Great Britain and Iceland, the coast of Norway, and even climb even further north. In the Pacific Ocean in the summer you can see the moonfish in the Sea of Japan, more often in the northern part, and near the Kuril Islands.

Although the moon fish looks quite menacing because of its impressive size, it is not terrible for a person. However, there are many signs among South African sailors who interpret the appearance of this fish as a sign of trouble. This is probably due to the fact that the moonfish approaches the shore only before the weather worsens. Sailors associate the appearance of fish with an approaching storm and rush to return to shore. Similar superstitions also appear due to the unusual type of fish and its way of swimming.

Moonfish belong to the order Pufferfish, which includes pufferfish and urchinfish, 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 by the unusual appearance of these millstone-like animals. One gets the impression that at the dawn of evolution, someone bit off the back of the fish, just behind the dorsal and anal fins, and they survived and gave birth to an equally strange offspring. Indeed, representatives of this family of vertebrae have fewer vertebrae than other bony fish, for example, the mola mola species has only 16 of them, the pelvic girdle is completely reduced, the caudal fin is absent, and instead of it there is a bumpy pseudo-tail. The family Molidae includes three genera and five species of sunfish:

Genus Masturus

Sharptail moonfish, Sharptail mola, Masturus lanceolatus
Masturus oxyuropterus

Ocean sunfish, Mola mola
Southern sunfish, Mola ramsayi

Genus Ranzania

Slender sunfish, Slender sunfish, Ranzania laevis.

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

Because of its rounded outlines, in many languages of the world this unusual creature is called moonfish, or sun fish (sunfish), due to the habit of basking in the sun while floating on the surface. The translation of the German name means " floating head”, Polish -“ lonely head", the Chinese call this fish" overturned 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.

Moonfish belong to the order Pufferfish, which includes pufferfish and urchinfish, 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). Family of moon-shaped, or moon-fish, ( Molidae) is united by the unusual appearance of these millstone-like animals. One gets the impression that at the dawn of evolution, someone bit off the back of the fish, just behind the dorsal and anal fins, and they survived and gave birth to an equally strange offspring. Indeed, representatives of this family of vertebrae have fewer vertebrae than other bony fish, for example, in 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. The family Molidae includes three genera and five species of sunfish:

Genus Masturus

Genus Mola

Genus Ranzania

Moonfish are the largest of the bony fish. The largest measured mola mola reached a length of 3.3 m and weighed 2.3 tons. There are reports that they caught fish that reached a length of more than five meters. In the process of development from larvae to adults, all sunfish go through several stages of development, and all forms are completely different from each other. The larvae that have hatched from the eggs resemble pufferfish, then wide bone plates appear on the body of the grown larvae, which are later preserved only in fish of the genus Ranzania, in the mole and masturus, the protrusions on the plates gradually turn into sharp long spikes, which then disappear. The caudal fin and swim bladder gradually disappear, and the teeth merge into a single plate.

The most studied moonfish of the genus Mola. Fish of the genus Masturus are very similar to mola mola, but they have an elongated pseudo-tail and the eyes are more forward. There was an opinion that these fish are anomalous mola, which left the larval tail, but studies have shown that during the process of fish growth, pseudo-tail rays appear after the reduction of the larval tail. Representatives of the genus Ranzania are somewhat different from other moonfish, which reach a small size of 1 m and have a flatter and elongated body shape.

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

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, female common moonfish 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.

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 by the unusual appearance of these millstone-like animals. One gets the impression that at the dawn of evolution, someone bit off the back of the fish, 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 moon fish. 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 Hawaiian Islands. In the eastern Atlantic, they are found from Scandinavia to South Africa, occasionally entering the Baltic, North and Mediterranean seas. In the eastern 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. Prolonged exposure to temperatures of 12°C or below can cause them to become disoriented and suffer 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.

Large size and thick skin make adult moon fish invulnerable to small predators, however, juveniles can become prey for tuna and dolphins. Large fish are attacked, 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.