Molidae

2025-10-04T17:15:42Z

2603:9001:900:27D4:DC05:B975:E16D:D02B:

{{Short description|Family of fishes}}
{{Redirect|Molid|the Romanian village|Vama, Suceava|the biblical person|Molid (biblical figure)}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = Molidae
| fossil_range = {{Fossil range|Bartonian|present|Mid/Late [[Eocene]] to present<ref name="Tyler1992">{{cite journal|last1=Tyler|first1=James C.|last2=Bannikov|first2=Alexandre F.|year=1992|title=New genus of primitive ocean sunfish with separate premaxillae from the Eocene of Southwest Russia (Molidae, Tetraodontiformes)|journal=Copeia|volume=1992|issue=4|pages=1014–1023|doi=10.2307/1446631|jstor=1446631|publisher=Copeia, Vol. 1992, No. 4}}</ref>}}
| image = Mola-mola-Lisboa-20051020.jpg
| image_caption = ''[[Mola mola]]''
| taxon = Molidae
| authority = [[Charles Lucien Bonaparte|Bonaparte]], 1832
| subdivision_ranks = Genera
| subdivision_ref = <ref name=Matsuura2014>{{cite journal | last=Matsuura | first=Keiichi | title=Taxonomy and systematics of tetraodontiform fishes: a review focusing primarily on progress in the period from 1980 to 2014 | journal=Ichthyological Research | volume=62 | issue=1 | date=2015 | issn=1341-8998 | doi=10.1007/s10228-014-0444-5 | doi-access=free | pages=72–113 | bibcode=2015IchtR..62...72M | url=https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10228-014-0444-5.pdf}}</ref>
| subdivision = {{plainlist|
*''†[[Austromola]]''
*''†[[Eomola]]''
*''[[Masturus]]''
*''[[Mola (fish)|Mola]]''
*''[[Ranzania (fish)|Ranzania]]''}}
}}

The '''Molidae''' comprise the family of the '''molas''' or '''ocean sunfishes''', unusual fish whose bodies come to an end just behind the [[dorsal fin|dorsal]] and [[anal fin]]s, giving them a "half-fish" appearance. They are also the largest of the ray-finned bony fish, with the [[southern sunfish]], ''Mola alexandrini'', recorded at {{convert|15|ft|m|abbr=on|order=flip}} in length<ref>{{cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf6zbkaWzN8|title=Massive Huge Sun Fish off of Portugal 15 foot plus|date=6 October 2015|via=[[YouTube]]|access-date=1 March 2019}}</ref> and {{convert|2744|kg|lb|abbr=on}} in weight.

The family name comes from the [[ocean sunfish]]'s scientific name ''Mola mola'', both its genus name and epithet come from the Latin word ''mola'' for "[[millstone]]" because of its circular shape.<ref name="ETYFish">{{cite web |url=https://etyfish.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/ETYFish_Tetraodontiformes2.pdf |title=Family TETRADONTIFORMES |last1=Scharpf |first1=Christopher |last2=Lazara |first2= Kenneth J. |website=The ETYFish Project |date=12 June 2023 |access-date=30 October 2023 }}</ref>

== Description ==
[[File:Skeleton of the sun fish, 1857.jpg|thumb|left|Sunfish skeleton photographed by [[Lewis Carroll]]]]
Molidae have the fewest [[vertebra]]e of any fish, with only 16 in ''Mola mola''. The axial musculature, [[Caudal (anatomical term)|caudal]] and pelvic fins are completely lost during development, and most of their [[skeleton]] is made of [[cartilage]]. They also lack [[gas bladder|swim bladder]]s. No bony plates occur in the skin, which is, however, thick and dense like cartilage and is fairly rough. Under the skin there is a stiff and gelatinous layer consisting of 89.8% water with a collagen and elastin meshwork, acting like an exoskeleton. Due to its greasy texture, it may also contain lipids. This layer, which is horizontally separated by a septum, provides the fish with buoyancy, and makes up a larger part of the animal's total mass the bigger the individual is.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=The locomotor system of the ocean sunfish Mola mola (L.): role of gelatinous exoskeleton, horizontal septum, muscles and tendons|first1=John|last1=Davenport|first2=Natasha D.|last2=Phillips|first3=Elizabeth|last3=Cotter|first4=Lawrence E.|last4=Eagling|first5=Jonathan D. R.|last5=Houghton|date=June 21, 2018|journal=Journal of Anatomy|volume=233|issue=3|pages=347–357|doi=10.1111/joa.12842|pmid=29926911|pmc=6081505}}</ref>

Molids mostly swim by using their anal and dorsal fins; the pectoral fins are likely mainly stabilizers. To steer, they squirt a strong jet of water out of their mouths or gills.<ref name=EoF>{{cite book |editor=Paxton, J.R. |editor2=Eschmeyer, W.N.|author1=Matsuura, K. |author2=Tyler, J.C. |name-list-style=amp |year=1998|title=Encyclopedia of Fishes |publisher=Academic Press |location=San Diego |isbn= 0-12-547665-5 |page= 231}}</ref> They can also make minor adjustments in the orientation of the anal fin or the dorsal fin so as to control the amount of force it produces and the angle at which the force is produced. In this respect, they use their fins much like a bird uses its wings.<ref name=EoF2>{{cite episode|credits= Fothergill, A. (director), Attenborough, D. (narrator) |date = 2001-09-12 |series=The Blue Planet|series-link =The Blue Planet|issue= 3 |publisher = BBC Worldwide, Ltd. }}</ref>

Molids are said to be able to produce sound by grinding their [[pharyngeal teeth]], which are long and claw-like. Typical of a member of [[Tetraodontiformes]], their teeth are fused into a beak-like structure, making it impossible for them to close their mouths. Despite this, they feed mainly on soft-bodied animals, such as jellyfish and [[salp]]s, although they also take small fish or crustaceans.<ref name=EoF/>

==Behavior==
Molids have been filmed interacting with other species. Since molids are susceptible to several kinds of skin [[parasite]]s, they make use of [[cleaner fish]]. A molid in need of cleaning will locate a patch of floating [[algae]] or [[flotsam]] that is home to [[halfmoon]]s. The molid signals a readiness for cleaning by swimming almost vertically with its head near the surface of the water, and waits for the smaller cleaner fish to feed on the parasite worms. Similarly, the molid may break the surface of the water with its dorsal fin and beak to attract the attention of a [[gull]] or similar [[seabird]]. The seabird will then dig worms and other stubborn parasites out of the molid's skin.<ref name=EoF2/>

== Fossil record ==
The known fossil history of Molidae extends back to the [[Eocene]], with the genus ''[[Eomola]]'' containing the species ''[[Eomola bimaxillaria|E. bimaxillaria]]'', known from the mid/late [[Eocene]] ([[Bartonian]]) of the [[North Caucasus]].<ref name="Tyler1992"/> The fossil genus ''[[Austromola]]'' containing one species, ''[[Austromola angerhoferi|A. angerhoferi]]'' Gregorova, Schultz, Harzhauser & Kroh, 2009, is known from the Lower [[Miocene]] [[Ebelsberg Formation]] near [[Pucking]], Austria. This species was a resident of the [[Paratethys Sea]] and is estimated to have reached a length around {{convert|320|cm|in|abbr=on}}, making it the largest Cenozoic fossil [[teleost]] known.<ref name=":0" />

At least one fossil species of ''Mola'', ''[[Mola pileata|M. pileata]]'' (van Beneden, 1881), is known from the Upper and Middle Miocene of [[Europe]] with a possible second species known from the Lower Miocene of [[North Carolina]], United States. The genus ''Ranzania'' has five known fossil species: ''[[Ranzania grahami|R. grahami]]'' Weems, 1985 and ''[[Ranzania tenneyorum|R. tenneyorum]]'' Weems, 1985, both from the Middle Miocene [[Calvert Formation]] of [[Virginia]], USA; ''[[Ranzania zappai|R. zappai]]'' Carnevale, 2007 from the Middle Miocene of Italy; ''[[Ranzania ogaii|R. ogaii]]'' Uyeno & Sakamoto, 1994 from the Middle Miocene of Japan; and an as yet unnamed species from the Upper Miocene of [[Algeria]].<ref name=":0">{{cite journal | last1=Gregorova | first1=Ruzena | last2=Schultz | first2=Ortwin | last3=Harzhauser | first3=Mathias | last4=Kroh | first4=Andreas | last5=Ćorić | first5=Stjepan | title=A giant early Miocene sunfish from the North Alpine Foreland Basin (Austria) and its implication for molid phylogeny | journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology | volume=29 | issue=2 | date=2009-06-12 | issn=0272-4634 | doi=10.1671/039.029.0201 | pages=359–371 | bibcode=2009JVPal..29..359G |url=http://www.nhm-wien.ac.at/jart/prj3/nhm/data/uploads/mitarbeiter_dokumente/kroh/2009/Gregorova_et_al_2009_sunfish_JVP.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141208203525/http://www.nhm-wien.ac.at/jart/prj3/nhm/data/uploads/mitarbeiter_dokumente/kroh/2009/Gregorova_et_al_2009_sunfish_JVP.pdf | archive-date=2014-12-08 | url-status=dead}}</ref>

An [[Early Miocene]]-aged fossil molid beak (potentially of ''[[Slender sunfish|Ranzania]]'') from the [[Gaiman Formation]] of [[Chubut Province|Chubut]], Argentina represents one of the southernmost known fossil records of [[Tetraodontiformes|tetraodontiform]] fish. Although it may have been a stray to the region, it is also possible that the warmer climate of the Miocene allowed molids to inhabit the seas that then covered [[Patagonia]]. In modern times, molids are only occasional strays to the region due to its cold climate.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=2021 |title=Tetraodontiformes (Osteichthyes, Actinopterygii) from the Miocene of Argentina: with the southernmost record of fossil Tetraodontidae |url=https://sciencepress.mnhn.fr/fr/periodiques/comptes-rendus-palevol/20/27 |journal=Comptes Rendus Palevol |language=fr |volume=20 |issue=27 |pages=585–596 |doi=10.5852/cr-palevol2021v20a27 |last1=Gouiric-Cavalli |first1=Soledad |last2=Azpelicueta |first2=Maria de las Mercedes |last3=Cione |first3=Alberto L. }}</ref>

== Species ==
Only five extant species in three extant genera are described:
* Ocean sunfish (''[[Mola mola]]'')
* Southern ocean sunfish (''[[Mola alexandrini]]''), has been recognized as a senior synonym of ''Mola ramsayi'' (Gaglioli 1889), the "bump-head sunfish"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.springer.com/gp/about-springer/media/research-news/all-english-research-news/world-s-heaviest-bony-fish-identified-and-correctly-named/15270666|title=World's heaviest bony fish identified and correctly named|website=Springer.com |date=5 December 2017 |access-date=1 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/784|title=Mola alexandrini|website=Fishesofaustralia.net.au|access-date=1 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1=Sawai | first1=Etsuro | last2=Yamanoue | first2=Yusuke | last3=Nyegaard | first3=Marianne | last4=Sakai | first4=Yoichi | title=Redescription of the bump-head sunfish Mola alexandrini (Ranzani 1839), senior synonym of Mola ramsayi (Giglioli 1883), with designation of a neotype for Mola mola (Linnaeus 1758) (Tetraodontiformes: Molidae) | journal=Ichthyological Research | publisher=Springer Science and Business Media LLC | volume=65 | issue=1 | date=2017-12-05 | issn=1341-8998 | doi=10.1007/s10228-017-0603-6 | pages=142–160}}</ref>
* Hoodwinker sunfish (''[[Mola tecta]]'')
* Slender sunfish (''[[Ranzania laevis]]'')
* Sharptail mola (''[[Masturus lanceolatus]]'')

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Rank
! Molid species
! Common name
! Year
! Mass (kg)
! Total length (m)
! Clavus (pseudo-tail) appearance
! Shape of head and chin
! Image
|-
| 1 || ''Mola mola'' ||[[Ocean sunfish]] || 1758|| 2300 || 3.33 || Scalloped ||Less bumpy and less protruding ||[[File:Portugal-Lisboa-Oceanário_de_Lisboa_-P1170757_(25260836764).jpg|frameless]]
|-
| 2 || ''Mola alexandrini'' ||[[Southern sunfish]] || 2021 || 2744 || 3.0 || Rounded ||Bumps on head and chin || [[File:Mola_alexandrini_(Bump-head_Mola).jpg|frameless]]
|-
| 3 || ''Mola tecta'' ||[[Hoodwinker sunfish]] || 2017 || 1870 || 2.42 || Rounded with medial indentation ||No lumps and bumps on head and chin|| [[File:Mola_tecta.jpg|frameless]]
|-
| 4 || ''Masturus lanceolatus'' ||[[Sharptail mola]] || 1840 || 2000 || 3.37 || Pointed projection || Convex forehead || [[File:Masturus_lanceolatus.jpg|frameless]]
|-
| 5 || ''Ranzania laevis'' ||[[Slender sunfish]] || 1776 || NA || 1.0 || Slant and flat || Pointed and bump-less || [[File:Ranzania_laevis2.jpg|frameless]]
|}

==References==
{{Commons category|Molidae}}
{{Reflist}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q726231}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Molidae| ]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Charles Lucien Bonaparte]]
[[Category:Bartonian first appearances]]
[[Category:Extant Eocene first appearances]]

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Molidae