Distribution: Runs up Atlantic coast rivers to spawn in the spring; an introduced population exists in Lake Hartwell. Smallmouth buffalo have a deep stout body, gray or dark blue above, gray to olive sides, pale belly, dusky fins, large scales, forked tail, and a small mouth without barbels.
They can be distinguished from common carp in lacking barbels around the mouth, and differ from grass carp and suckers in having a deep stout body rather than an elongate or cylindrical body. Bluegill have a compressed body with a rounded profile. Their back and upper sides are dark olive-green, often with dark vertical bars on the sides, and the belly is pale yellow to light orange.
Spawning males have blue on the lower parts of the head and a red breast. They have an entirely dark ear flap and a dark spot in the rear of the dorsal fin, which distinguishes them from all other sunfish. Flier have a compressed body with a rounded profile, and large dorsal and anal fins that are nearly equal in size.
They have a dark greenish back with olive green to pale yellow sides that are marked with several rows of brown spots. There is a distinct dark streak running through the eye onto the cheek, and many light spots on the dorsal and anal fins. Small fliers have a prominent black spot surrounded by orange in the rear dorsal fin. Green sunfish have a compressed body with an oval profile, greenish back and sides, white to yellowish belly, scattered blue-green markings on the side, and wavy blue-green lines on the snout and cheek.
The ear flap is dark with a pale margin, and there is a prominent dark spot in the rear dorsal and anal fins. Distribution: Native to the Coosa and Tennessee River basins; introduced through most of the state. Redear sunfish have a compressed body with a rounded profile, and long pointed pectoral fins.
They have an olive back with a yellow breast, and the pale to yellowish sides are marked with brownish spots or bars. They can be distinguished from most other sunfish by the dark ear flap with a distinct red or orange margin and from the similar pumpkinseed by not having blue lines on the head. Redbreast sunfish have a compressed body with a rounded profile, greenish back with yellow-olive sides and a reddish-orange belly.
They have wavy blue-green lines on the snout and cheeks, and a long narrow ear flap that is no wider than the eye, which can exceed an inch in length and is entirely dark at the tip. The similar longear sunfish has an ear flap with a pale margin throughout its length. Rock bass have a compressed body with an oval profile, backs marked with indistinct dark saddles, and pale sides marked with small dark spots that form horizontal lines; the anal fin may have a dark edge.
They may appear similar to warmouth, but have lines on the side and six anal spines rather than three. Shadow bass have a compressed body with an oval profile, dark mottling forming a camouflage-like pattern, and sides marked with small dark spots that form horizontal lines.
Spotted sunfish have a compressed body with an rounded profile, olive green back and sides, and a yellow to orange belly.
The ear flap is short and dark with a pale margin. They can be distinguished from all other sunfish by the numerous small dark to reddish spots on the sides that follow the scale rows, scattered dark spots on the cheek, and a distinct blue crescent mark on the lower margin of the eye.
Warmouth have a thick, oblong body that is brassy to dark olive-green, with broad, irregular dark bars giving it a mottled appearance, often with a yellowish belly. It has reddish eyes and a large mouth, with the upper jaw extending to or beyond the middle of the eyes. There are conspicuous dark stripes that radiate back from the eyes across the cheek, and a red spot on the ear flap.
They may appear similar to rock and shadow bass, but do not have horizontal lines on the side and have three anal spines rather than six. Brook trout have a greenish to grey back, with silver to reddish-orange sides and belly.
They have red spots, and pale wavy markings and spots along the back and sides. The lower fins all have white forward margins followed by a distinct black stripe.
They differ from other trout in having pale markings on a darker background. Natural brook trout populations only exist where rainbow and brown trout do not exist. Brown trout are olive to golden brown with yellowish to silvery sides. The common names "ocean sunfish" and "mola" refer only to the family Molidae and can be applied all three Molidae species. The common name "ocean sunfish" comes from their habit of lying atop the surface of the ocean appearing to sunbathe.
While there is considerable overlap, there do appear to be specific preferences depending on species. With insight gleaned from satellite tagging studies, ultrasonic tagging and our internet sighting form, we are starting to piece together the seasonal distribution of ocean sunfish populations throughout the world ocean.
In Indonesia sunfish tagged in Bali were found to move eastward along frontal margins during the wet season Thys et al. In the Eastern Pacific, individuals tagged in Central and Southern California migrate as far south as Baja California during the fall and winter months Thys et al. Sunfish off South Africa move offshore but don't exhibit substantial latitudinal migrations Hays et al. Molas produce an impressive number of eggs.
Note while male molas have paired testes, females have unpaired gonads. Needless to say, the eggs are tiny 1. After hatching, the larvae expose their affinity to their spiky puffer-fish relatives and look more like swimming pincushions than wee molas. As they grow and mature however, their spines disappear, as do their tails. Mola mola eat a variety of foods especially when they are younger. Squid, sponges, serpent star bits, eel grass, crustaceans, small fishes and deepwater eel larvae have also been found in M.
As they mature their diet appears to shift to include more gelatinous zooplankton—jellies including Portuguese man-o-war, Vellella, ctenophores and salps. The diet preferences of Masturus lanceolatus are presumed similar to that of Mola mola. Bottom dwelling sponges and annelids have also been found in the stomachs of young Masturus Yabe, and more small fish and various invertebrates, indicative of both benthic and pelagic foraging Bakenhaster and Knight-Gray Ranzania eat an assortment of crustacean, fish and molluscs including myctophid larvae, hyperiid amphipods, crab megalops, crab zoea and pteropods.
Most feeding appears to take place within m ft of the surface Fitch, Staff from the at Monterey Bay Aquarium report having caught Ranzania while trawling for skipjack tuna so we know these little fellows can zip along.
They also have been recorded to have squid in their guts. Nyegaard et al The average size of an adult Mola mola is 1. The average weight is up to 1 metric ton lbs. The heaviest mola on record came from Japan, Mola alexandrini, was 2. Before this discovery the largest Mola ever recorded weighed kg 4, lbs and measured 3.
It is likely there are larger molas but there was not a scale available to take a formal measurement. No data exist on how fast mola grow in the wild but one Mola mola individual in captivity at the Monterey Bay Aquarium gained kg lbs in 14 months. Fattened up on a diet of squid, fish and prawns, this fish had to be airlifted out by helicopter and released into the bay after outgrowing its million gallon tank. Then a marine biologist responded. The rant — which you've probably seen if you spend much time on Facebook — listed myriad reasons why the sunfish is actually "the biggest joke played on Earth".
They included: the sunfish's "useless" heavy body which can weigh up to 2,kg 5, pounds , their lack of swim bladders which fish generally need to control their buoyancy so that they don't rise to the ocean's surface , and the fact that they're not even considered food by predators, which instead choose to chew off their fins to play with, for fun.
The comment section was full of people applauding Burns, and a few even said that she had changed their minds on sunfish. Although other fishes have dorsal fins, they're usually associated with sharks , and no one wants to be swimming with sharks! Depending upon where you're swimming, though, seeing a dorsal fin might not be a bad thing at all. Instead of a shark , it could belong to a curious sea creature that happens to be the heaviest bony fish on Earth: the ocean sunfish, which is also commonly known as the mola or sunfish.
Scientifically known as Mola mola which is where its common name "mola" comes from , the ocean sunfish tends to make its home in the deep waters of temperate and tropical oceans. Their large, silvery bodies can occasionally be seen near the surface , where they go to soak up the Sun's rays. This is also when their dorsal fins may break the surface , making swimmers think sharks are near. The largest ocean sunfish can span up to 14 feet vertically and 10 feet horizontally.
Even though they're large fish, their appearance is a bit odd, since they often look like only half a fish. Their bullet-like shape develops because their back fin never grows.
Instead, as ocean sunfish grow, the back fin folds in on itself, creating a rounded, rudder -like appendage called a clavus. Adult ocean sunfish weigh an average of , pounds. However, the largest examples of the species can weigh over 5, pounds! Some sharks and rays can weigh even more, but they're considered cartilaginous rather than bony fish. Despite their large size, ocean sunfish have fairly small mouths.
Their primary and favorite food is jellyfish, but they also will eat small fish, plankton, and algae when jellyfish are unavailable. If you happen to see an ocean sunfish, you may notice its rough skin covered with parasites. They're prone to parasite infestations and will sometimes leap out of the water and land flat like a belly flop in an attempt to shake them off. They'll also occasionally stay near the surface to let small fish and birds feast on the parasites.
Ocean sunfish are harmless to humans, but they can be very curious and have been known to approach divers. If you want to see an ocean sunfish, you might need to learn how to SCUBA dive, since they're usually not kept in aquariums in captivity because they're hard to care for. Are you ready to learn even more about the ocean sunfish? Be sure to explore the following activities with a friend or family member:. Hi, Diana! It's a popular game! We encourage you to check out the Minecraft Wonder, too!
Hi, Summy! It's very popular here at Wonderopolis! Thanks for the KIND words, jon! We're glad you had so much fun exploring this Wonder, Sans! We hope you learned a cool new fact to share! Thanks for sharing what you learned, Emma! Hi, Mason!
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