CreatureData

Ocean sunfish

Mola mola (Linnaeus, 1758)

VUVulnerablebony fish

The ocean sunfish (Mola mola) is a species in the family Molidae, order Tetraodontiformes. It has been recorded in 72 countries, most often in United States, France and Canada. Its IUCN Red List status is Vulnerable.

Ocean sunfish (Mola mola)
Photo: U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the ocean sunfish

Weight
Not recorded
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Recorded in
72 countriessrc for Recorded in

Where does the ocean sunfish live?

Countries with openly licensed sighting records on GBIF. This shows where the species has been recorded, including zoos and introduced populations. It is not a definitive range.

The ocean sunfish has been recorded in 72 countries, from 83,246 records.

Fiji: 1 recordW. Sahara: 1 recordCanada: 2,142 recordsUnited States of America: 75,402 recordsPapua New Guinea: 1 recordIndonesia: 11 recordsArgentina: 1 recordNorway: 121 recordsFr. S. Antarctic Lands: 8 recordsSouth Africa: 25 recordsMexico: 13 recordsUruguay: 1 recordBrazil: 4 recordsColombia: 4 recordsPanama: 1 recordCosta Rica: 1 recordBelize: 1 recordFrance: 3,773 recordsEcuador: 6 recordsJamaica: 1 recordNamibia: 4 recordsGhana: 1 recordGuinea: 1 recordLiberia: 2 recordsGabon: 5 recordsAngola: 1 recordIsrael: 1 recordAlgeria: 4 recordsKuwait: 1 recordOman: 1 recordVietnam: 1 recordIndia: 3 recordsSweden: 108 recordsEstonia: 1 recordGermany: 35 recordsTurkey: 1 recordBelgium: 7 recordsNetherlands: 25 recordsPortugal: 403 recordsSpain: 102 recordsIreland: 474 recordsNew Caledonia: 8 recordsNew Zealand: 32 recordsAustralia: 59 recordsTaiwan: 7 recordsItaly: 17 recordsDenmark: 61 recordsUnited Kingdom: 219 recordsPhilippines: 1 recordMalaysia: 2 recordsJapan: 83 recordsYemen: 1 recordMorocco: 3 records
  • None on record
  • 1–9
  • 10–99
  • 100–999
  • 1,000+
records per country · small islands are not drawn at this scale

The same figures as a list, most records first

  1. United States75,402
  2. France3,773
  3. Canada2,142
  4. Ireland474
  5. Portugal403
  6. United Kingdom219
  7. Norway121
  8. Sweden108
  9. Spain102
  10. Japan83
  11. Denmark61
  12. Australia59
  13. Germany35
  14. New Zealand32
  15. Netherlands25
  16. South Africa25
  17. Italy17
  18. Mexico13
  19. Indonesia11
  20. Faroe Islands9
  21. New Caledonia8
  22. French Southern Territories8
  23. Belgium7
  24. Taiwan7
  25. Ecuador6
  26. Gabon5
  27. Brazil4
  28. Colombia4
  29. Algeria4
  30. Guadeloupe4
  31. Namibia4
  32. St. Pierre & Miquelon4
  33. Seychelles4
  34. Mayotte4
  35. St. Barthélemy3
  36. Bermuda3
  37. India3
  38. Jersey3
  39. Morocco3
  40. St. Martin3
Show 32 more countries
  1. Martinique3
  2. French Polynesia3
  3. Réunion3
  4. American Samoa2
  5. Liberia2
  6. Malaysia2
  7. Angola1
  8. Argentina1
  9. Belize1
  10. Costa Rica1
  11. Estonia1
  12. Western Sahara1
  13. Fiji1
  14. Guernsey1
  15. Ghana1
  16. Gibraltar1
  17. Guinea1
  18. Israel1
  19. Isle of Man1
  20. British Indian Ocean Territory1
  21. Jamaica1
  22. Comoros1
  23. Kuwait1
  24. Norfolk Island1
  25. Oman1
  26. Panama1
  27. Papua New Guinea1
  28. Philippines1
  29. Türkiye1
  30. Uruguay1
  31. Vietnam1
  32. Yemen1

What is the ocean sunfish?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The ocean sunfish (Mola mola), also known as the common mola, is one of the largest ray-finned fish in the world. It is the type species of the genus Mola, and one of five extant species in the family Molidae. It was formerly misidentified as the heaviest bony fish, which is actually a different and closely related species of sunfish, Mola alexandrini. Adults typically weigh between 247 and 1,000 kg (545 and 2,205 lb). It is native to tropical and temperate waters around the world. It resembles a fish head without a tail, and its main body is flattened laterally. Sunfish can be as tall as they are long, between 175 and 180 centimetres (5.74 and 5.91 ft), when their dorsal and ventral fins are extended.

Many areas of sunfish biology remain poorly understood, including mating practices and spawning locations, early life stages, movement and migration patterns, population structure and status, diet and trophic ecology, and post-release survival rates. Various research efforts are underway, including aerial surveys of populations, satellite surveillance using pop-off satellite tags, genetic analysis of tissue samples, and collection of amateur sighting data.

Adult sunfish are vulnerable to few natural predators, but sea lions, orcas, and sharks will consume them. Sunfish are considered a delicacy in some parts of the world, including Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. In the European Union, regulations ban the sale of fish and fishery products derived from the family Molidae. Sunfish are frequently caught in gillnets.

Wikipedia contributors, “Ocean sunfish”, Wikipedia (revision 1382375250), retrieved 2026-11-11. Shared under CC BY-SA 4.0; this block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the ocean sunfish endangered?

The ocean sunfish is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Vulnerable species.

How is the ocean sunfish classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. orderTetraodontiformes
  4. familyMolidae
  5. genusMola
  6. SpeciesMola mola (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms Aledon capensis, Aledon storeri, Cephalus brevis, Cephalus ortagoriscus, Cephalus pallasianus, Diodon carinatus, Diodon mola, Diodon nummularis, Diplanchias nasus, Mola aculeata, Mola alexandrini, Mola aspera, Mola hispida, Mola rotunda, Molacanthus pallasii, Orthagoriscus alessandrini, Orthagoriscus analis, Orthagoriscus mola, Orthragoriscus alexandrini, Orthragoriscus analis, Orthragoriscus blochii, Orthragoriscus elegans, Orthragoriscus fasciatus, Orthragoriscus ghini, Orthragoriscus hispidus, Orthragoriscus lunaris, Orthragoriscus mola, Orthragoriscus redi, Orthragoriscus retzii, Orthragoriscus rondeletii

Names in other languages (29)
  • MôleFrench
  • MondfischGerman
  • peixe-luaPortuguese
  • maanvisDutch
  • klumpfiskSwedish
  • マンボウJapanese
  • 翻车鲀Chinese
  • سمكة شمس المحيطArabic
  • महासागरीय सूर्यमछलीHindi
  • Обыкновенная луна-рыбаRussian
  • SunfishEnglish
  • MolaSpanish
  • Peixe LuaSpanish
  • Pez CabezaSpanish
  • Pez LunaSpanish
  • Pez SolSpanish
  • Môle CommunFrench
  • Poisson-luneFrench
  • Poisson LuneFrench
  • HeadfishEnglish
  • Mola ocean sunfishEnglish
  • MoonfishEnglish
  • Sun-fishEnglish
  • 翻車魨Chinese
  • 翻車魚Chinese
  • 蜇魴Chinese
  • 蜇魚Chinese
  • 海蟲Chinese
  • 曼波Chinese

GBIFWikidataWikipediaNCBI TaxonomyITISEncyclopedia of LifeiNaturalistWoRMS

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

Where does the ocean sunfish live?

The ocean sunfish has openly licensed sighting records from 72 countries on GBIF. The most records come from United States, France, Canada, Ireland and Portugal. These are recorded sightings, not a definitive range.

Is the ocean sunfish endangered?

The ocean sunfish is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.

What kind of animal is the ocean sunfish?

The ocean sunfish (Mola mola) belongs to the family Molidae in the order Tetraodontiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Ocean sunfish (Mola mola). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/ocean-sunfish

MLA

“Ocean sunfish (Mola mola).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/ocean-sunfish.

BibTeX
@misc{ocean_sunfish_2026,
  title = {Ocean sunfish (Mola mola)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/ocean-sunfish},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}