Mola (genus)

Mola
	Sunfish ( Mola mola )
Systematics
	Acanthomorphata
	Spinefish (Acanthopterygii)
	Perch relatives (Percomorphaceae)
Order :	Puffer fish (Tetraodontiformes)
Family :	Sunfish (Molidae)
Genre :	Mola
Scientific name
	Mola
	Koelreuter , 1766

Mola is a genus of sunfish (Molidae).

features

The body is oval and strongly flattened on the sides. A caudal stalk and an actual caudal fin are missing. Instead, the body, which is blunt at the back, is lined with a leathery pseudocaudale formed from elements of the dorsal and anal fin, which can be slightly indented. A central extension of the pseudocaudale, a characteristic feature of the genus Masturus , is missing. The mouth is small and covered with fused teeth that form a beak-like bite apparatus. The skin is leathery and thick. The scales are largely reduced and have a rounded base and a pointed or rectangular end. The gill openings are oval and small. The sideline system is limited to the area around the eyes. It is barely noticeable. There is no swim bladder . The dorsal and anal fin are symmetrically opposite each other behind the center of the body. They are shaped identically, high but with a short base, and serve as powerful main propulsion organs. Ventral fins are missing.

Mola species have a dark back and become increasingly lighter towards the belly. The sides of the body are often patterned with dots or spots.

species

Sunfish ( Mola mola ) ( Linnaeus , 1758)
Mola alexandrini (Ranzani, 1839)
Mola tecta

Web links

Commons : Mola - collection of images, videos and audio files

Mola on Fishbase.org (English)

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c Marianne Nyegaard, Etsuro Sawai, Neil Gemmell, Joanne Gillum, Neil R. Loneragan, Yusuke Yamanoue, Andrew L. Stewart: Hiding in broad daylight: molecular and morphological data reveal a new ocean sunfish species (Tetraodontiformes: Molidae) that has eluded recognition . In: Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society . July 19, 2017, doi : 10.1093 / zoolinnean / zlx040 .
↑ E. Sawai, Y. Yamanoue, M. Nyegaard, Y. Sakai: 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) . In: Ichthyological Research . December 5, 2017, ISSN 1341-8998 , p. 1–19 , doi : 10.1007 / s10228-017-0603-6 ( link.springer.com [PDF]).

[Nyegaard-1] Marianne Nyegaard, Etsuro Sawai, Neil Gemmell, Joanne Gillum, Neil R. Loneragan, Yusuke Yamanoue, Andrew L. Stewart: Hiding in broad daylight: molecular and morphological data reveal a new ocean sunfish species (Tetraodontiformes: Molidae) that has eluded recognition . In: Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society . July 19, 2017, doi : 10.1093 / zoolinnean / zlx040 .

[2] E. Sawai, Y. Yamanoue, M. Nyegaard, Y. Sakai: 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) . In: Ichthyological Research . December 5, 2017, ISSN 1341-8998 , p. 1–19 , doi : 10.1007 / s10228-017-0603-6 ( link.springer.com [PDF]).