# Ocean sunfish (*Mola mola*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/ocean-sunfish  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

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.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| 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) |
| Recorded in | 72 countries |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- order: Tetraodontiformes
- family: Molidae
- genus: Mola
- species: *Mola 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*

## Where it has been recorded

Countries with openly licensed sighting records on GBIF (records in brackets). Recorded sightings, not a definitive range.

United States (75402), France (3773), Canada (2142), Ireland (474), Portugal (403), United Kingdom (219), Norway (121), Sweden (108), Spain (102), Japan (83), Denmark (61), Australia (59), Germany (35), New Zealand (32), Netherlands (25), South Africa (25), Italy (17), Mexico (13), Indonesia (11), Faroe Islands (9), New Caledonia (8), French Southern Territories (8), Belgium (7), Taiwan (7), Ecuador (6), Gabon (5), Brazil (4), Colombia (4), Algeria (4), Guadeloupe (4), Namibia (4), St. Pierre & Miquelon (4), Seychelles (4), Mayotte (4), St. Barthélemy (3), Bermuda (3), India (3), Jersey (3), Morocco (3), St. Martin (3), Martinique (3), French Polynesia (3), Réunion (3), American Samoa (2), Liberia (2), Malaysia (2), Angola (1), Argentina (1), Belize (1), Costa Rica (1), Estonia (1), Western Sahara (1), Fiji (1), Guernsey (1), Ghana (1), Gibraltar (1), Guinea (1), Israel (1), Isle of Man (1), British Indian Ocean Territory (1), and 12 more

## Common questions

### 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

- [GBIF Backbone Taxonomy](https://www.gbif.org/dataset/d7dddbf4-2cf0-4f39-9b2a-bb099caae36c), CC BY 4.0, live API 2026-11-11. GBIF Secretariat. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org.
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/), CC0 1.0, live API 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata, the free knowledge base.
- [GBIF occurrence aggregates (CC0 and CC BY records only)](https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search), CC BY 4.0, live API 2026-11-11. GBIF.org occurrence search, country facet counts restricted to CC0 1.0 and CC BY 4.0 records.
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/), Per file, live API 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Licence and creator recorded per file.
- [English Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/), CC BY-SA 4.0, live API 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.

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