Moon-fish: a description with a photo, where it lives, what it eats

The moonfish differs from other fish species due to its unique appearance. If you look at this representative of the underwater world, it is difficult to say that this is a fish, and not some other animal. This is due to the fact that the body of the fish resembles the shape of a disk, which indicates its extraterrestrial origin. At least that’s what many people think. The easiest way to compare this fish with a regular plate.

Moon fish: description

This fish also has a second name – mola, as it represents the genus and species of the same name (Mola mola). If the name is translated from Latin, then mola means “millstones”, which have the shape of a large circle of a gray-blue hue. Therefore, the name of the fish corresponds to its appearance.

There is also an English version of the name of this fish – it is “Ocean sunfish”. This name was formed as a result of observations of the behavior of a fish that likes to swim closer to the surface of the water, lying on its side. She seems to bathe in the sun, but in fact, she does it for a different reason. When the fish rises closer to the surface, the gulls, like “doctors”, begin to extract with their beak from its body the attached parasites, of which the fish have a huge amount.

Some sources call this representative of the underwater world a moon fish, and some just a floating head.

Despite different approaches in determining the name, this is the largest representative of bony fish. Its average weight reaches 1 thousand kg, although there are specimens whose weight reaches 2 thousand kg.

The fish is characterized by rather bizarre body shapes. Her body is round and flattened laterally, and on it you can see two dorsal and 2 anal fins. The tail part also has a unique structure called corns.

This fish is devoid of scales, but its body is covered with strong and reliable skin, which under certain conditions is able to change its shade. The skin is quite elastic and covered with a layer of mucus. This fish is not taken by a regular harpoon. Depending on the habitat, its color can vary from brown or brownish-gray to light gray-bluish.

Interesting Facts! Moon fish, unlike other types of fish, has a smaller number of vertebrae, which indicates a lack of bone tissue in the skeleton. In addition, the fish lacks the classic pelvis, ribs, and swim bladder.

And although the fish has a rather impressive size, its mouth is very small, resembling a parrot’s beak. This illusion is created thanks to the teeth fused together.

Appearance and dimensions

Moon fish inhabits the waters of various continents located in warm and temperate latitudes. Some subspecies of this fish inhabit the waters below the equator, within Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Chile.

The average size of the moon-fish is limited to a height of 2,5 meters and a length of 2 meters, and the maximum dimensions are 4 and 3 meters, respectively. In 1996, a pier was caught, which weighed about 2 thousand 300 kg. To give you an idea, this corresponds to the weight and size of an adult white rhino.

These fish, despite their huge size, are not predators, and even more so, they are considered absolutely safe for humans. At the same time, they pose a danger to boats and ships if they move at high speed.

Interesting fact! The cement ship MV Goliath, which was heading to Sydney Harbor, collided with a 1400 kg maul fish. It happened in 1998. The transport was moving at a speed of about 14 knots, but after the collision, its speed dropped to 10 knots. At the same time, one of the sections of the ship lost its protective paint, right down to the metal itself.

When the mole is still young, its body is covered with bone spikes, which disappear as the individuals grow older.

Lifestyle, behavior

At first glance, this fish does not know how to swim at all, but this is not at all the case. Even so, she has fins that allow the fish, albeit slowly, but move in the water column. Her movements in the water occur in a circle, which is ineffective, but she does it.

In the early stages, experts preferred the fact that the fish mostly spent their time swimming in direct sunlight, but when sensors were installed on some representatives of this species, the experts were surprised and had to part with their assumptions. It turned out that the fish spends most of their time at a depth of about 200 meters, and appears on the surface of the water only to get rid of parasites and carry out the process of thermoregulation.

The diet of the mole includes jellyfish and siphonophores – invertebrate living organisms. In addition, squids, small crustaceans, deep-sea eel larvae, etc. are its food source. Although there are plenty of jellyfish in the water column, they are not a nutritious object of subsistence.

This fish spends a lot of time fighting parasites. Due to the fact that the mole has a large and clumsy body, it is difficult for her to keep it clean. Entire colonies of parasites accumulate on the skin and mucous membranes of the fish of the moon, so the fish have huge problems with personal hygiene. Thanks to scientists, it became known about more than 50 types of various parasites that have chosen the body of the fish of the moon, both outside and inside. Only one parasite is worth anything: it buries its head into the body of a fish and lays eggs there.

Gulls, albatrosses and other seabirds help fish fight parasites. The moonfish approaches the surface of the water and waits for seabirds to rid it of the parasites that have bred on the surface of the massive body. At the same time, she raises her body temperature, as the temperature drops due to the long stay of the fish at a considerable depth.

How long does a moon fish live

It turns out that not so much is known about this fish, since even scientists do not know how long the moon fish can live. Some experts claim that fish live for about 20 years. Statements are based on data on the growth and development of fish, depending on habitat conditions. Despite this, according to some reports, females are able to live more than 100 years, and males up to 90 years. What information is reliable, no one knows.

Habitat

The moon fish belongs to a separate marine species that spends its entire life in the open ocean, so little is known about it. The fish lives in the cold and southern waters of the oceans.

It is believed that the moon fish in the warm season is in warm layers of water, which are at depths of up to 50 meters, while the fish from time to time dive to depths of more than 150 meters.

As far as is known, the moon fish is found everywhere in the tropical, subtropical and temperate latitudes of the oceans.

What does he eat

According to experts, the moon fish mainly feeds on jellyfish. As a rule, jellyfish are not very nutritious, and in order to grow to such a size and gain impressive weight, fish dilute their diet with mollusks, crustaceans, squid and small fish. To do this, she needs to regularly descend to the depth in search of more nutritious food components. Being at a depth for a long time, and at a considerable depth, the body temperature of the fish drops, which leads to a slowdown in many life processes. To raise their body temperature, fish rise to the upper layers of the water and bask in direct sunlight.

Reproduction and offspring

As mentioned earlier, this fish has not yet been fully studied, including its reproductive biology. Despite this, it is known that the moonfish is considered the most prolific among vertebrates on the planet.

Sexually mature individuals are able to lay up to 300 million eggs, and the larvae that emerge from the eggs are no larger than a pinhead in size. When born, the fry of the mole have a protective shell, in the form of a translucent star or snowflake.

To date, it is not known where and how the fish lays its eggs. Presumably, for spawning, the fish chooses the waters of the North and South Atlantic, the North and South Pacific Ocean, as well as the waters of the Indian Ocean. For fish, it is important that there be a concentration of rotating ocean currents, in the form of gyres.

Interesting fact! The larvae of the fish of the moon that were born reach a length of no more than 2,5 mm. To reach sexual maturity, the fish will have to increase in size up to 60 million times.

The appearance of the fish of the moon surprises almost everyone, but most surprisingly, the puffer fish is the closest relative of the mole.

Natural enemies

When individuals become sexually mature, there are practically no natural enemies for them, with the exception of a person who is engaged in a very wasteful trade. The main share of the fish catch falls on the waters of the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. In these waters, up to 90% of the fish of the moon are caught, in relation to the entire catch. At the same time, fishing is practiced little, and it purely by chance gets into the nets.

Fishing value

Moon fish is of no commercial value, therefore it is not purposefully caught. It is believed that moon fish is a potential danger to humans, since its meat can be infected with the most dangerous types of parasites.

Despite such facts, moon fish meat is considered a real delicacy in some Asian countries. As a rule, even the skin and cartilage of fish are used, especially in countries such as Japan and Thailand. In addition, fish is actively used as a remedy, although only traditional medicine uses this. It is impossible to buy this fish in supermarkets or on the market, but you can try it in expensive restaurants where they know how to cook this fish properly.

In Europe, the trade of this fish is generally prohibited, since, like the puffer fish, it is capable of accumulating harmful components in its body, in addition to the fact that the meat can be infected with parasites. In America, such prohibitions do not apply to this fish, but despite this, the fish is not particularly popular due to the jelly-like appearance of the meat and the large amount of waste.

A characteristic feature of meat is the repulsive smell of iodine. Despite this, the meat is rich in proteins and other useful components. Cutting this fish requires special professionalism, since a lethal dose of poison is located in the liver and bile ducts. With unprofessional cutting, if the liver and bile ducts are touched, the poison will get into the meat, and then into the food. As a rule, this leads to death.

Population and species status

Given the fact that the fish is of no commercial value, no measures are taken to preserve its numbers, although it is absolutely unfair, since everything is interconnected in nature. Fish become a victim of uncontrolled fishing, as well as other factors. It often gets caught in fishermen’s nets as it often moves closer to the surface. The fish is quite slow due to the structural features of its body, which makes it especially vulnerable to a number of negative factors.

Scientists have calculated that up to 340 moonfish are caught annually within the waters of South Africa. Experts have calculated that moon fish makes up about 29% of the total fish catch, which clearly exceeds the need for it.

In the waters of Japan and Taiwan, purposeful fishing of mole mole is carried out. This is due to the fact that fishermen supply this fish to local restaurants as a culinary delicacy.

Based on some calculations, we can safely say that the populations of this fish in some water areas are reduced by up to 80%. In this regard, it is not difficult to assume that the world stocks of this fish are also declining. At the same time, it is considered that the level of reduction reaches about 30%. This is especially true in relation to the subsequent 3rd generations, that is, in the next 25 years. Little is known about the populations of other subspecies, such as Mola’s tecata and Ramsayi’s Mola, but it is not hard to imagine that they will suffer the same fate.

In conclusion

It is even difficult to assume that even those species of fish that do not differ in commercial value suffer from unreasonable human activity. In this case, it is not difficult to imagine the scale of the catch of valuable fish species, or at least those that are of commercial interest. It is not surprising that man has already come to the point where you just need to ban fishing on a global scale. If this is not done, you will simply have to forget about such a product as fish, which is fraught with serious negative consequences for humans. It seems that humanity is waiting for the stage when fish will have to be grown artificially, in specially designated water areas. The reason for this may be the fact that water resources are polluted at a high rate, which also leads to a decrease in fish stocks on a global scale.

The moon fish is an amazing creature, but for some reason it has been studied very poorly and it is not known what role this amazing creature plays in the life of all nature and man in particular. This suggests that even in the 3rd millennium there is a lot of unknown on Earth, which makes it difficult to have a complete picture of life on our Planet.