Photographer Daniel Botelho posted the above photo on Facebook this week and set off mola mania. The world's heaviest bony fish, mola (aka sunfish) can grow to 14 feet and weigh as much as 5,000 pounds. Though they rarely venture into California waters, where Botelho encountered this one, they're appearing in increasingly high numbers. But they're still hard to catch on film:
Though molas are docile and appear sluggish, they're difficult to photograph because they're deceivingly swift and do not generally tolerate divers who try to get close. "There were more than five in the same spot but once I got in the water, as stealthily as I could, they all went out fast," Botelho explained. "But one specific fish stopped to check what I was, and God knows why the fish decided to follow me. People in the boat said it seemed like a dog following his owner."
Mola expert Dr. Tierney Thys explains why they look so odd:
It’s in the same order as puffer fish and porcupine fish, but it’s one of the most evolutionarily derived fishes in the sea. So, it has a cranium more like what ours looks like, along with fewer vertebrae; its spinal column is actually shorter than its brain…. Their design has evolved to be more like an armored tank with a stiff body as opposed to a streamlined torpedo body like other fish. They just look like big puffer fish on steroids. They use mostly their fins for propulsion as opposed to wagging their body. They look lazy, but they’re really industrious. They dive up and down as much as 40 times a day. We recorded them off the Galapagos Islands diving as deep as 1,100 meters [3,600 feet].
(Photo courtesy of Daniel Botelho)
The Dish 