Giant Sunfish: World's Heaviest Bony Fish

[EnolaGaia]

A giant sunfish discovered (dead) off the Azores has been determined to be the largest bony fish ever documented.

'Majestic' 3-ton sunfish sets a new world record for largest bony fish ever discovered

A gigantic, 3-ton sunfish recently discovered near a Portuguese island has set a new world record for the heaviest bony fish ever recorded, according to a new study.

The scale-tipping behemoth, known as a giant sunfish or bump-head sunfish (Mola alexandrini), was discovered on Dec. 9, 2021 as it floated lifelessly off the coast of Faial Island, in the Azores — a Portuguese group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean. Local authorities scooped up the hefty carcass and took it back to port so it could be properly studied, according to a statement from the Atlantic Naturalist Association, a non-profit conservation and research organization based on Faial Island.

Researchers carried out a necropsy on the giant sunfish and detailed the results in a new study, published Oct. 11 in the Journal of Fish Biology ... The humongous fish was around 12 feet (3.6 meters) tall and around 11 feet (3.5 m) long, and it weighed a hefty 6,049 pounds (2,744 kilograms), or approximately 3 tons (2.7 metric tons). The researchers also analyzed the sunfish's stomach contents and took samples of its DNA, according to the statement. ...

The previous world record for the heaviest bony fish was held by another giant sunfish caught in Japan in 1996, which weighed around 5,070 pounds (2,300 kg), according to Guinness World Records ...

FULL STORY (With Photos): https://www.livescience.com/heaviest-bony-fish-ever-recorded

RESEARCH REPORT (Accepted / Pending):
Gomes-Pereira, J.N., Pham, C.K., Miodonski, J., Santos, M.A.R., Dionísio, G., Catarino, D., Nyegaard, M., Sawai, E., Carreira, G.P. and Afonso, P. (2022)
The heaviest bony fish in the world: a 2744 kg giant sunfish Mola alexandrini (Ranzani, 1839) from the North Atlantic.
J Fish Biol. Accepted Author Manuscript.
https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.15244

 

[Sgt Girth]

Ah! But what did it taste like after being battered and deep fried? Makes a change from cod & chips.

 

[Kondoru]

Mola mola is allegedly so bony only a Japanese person (with, presumably, a very good filleting knife) would eat it.

Dunno about this related fish.

Notice it is taller than it is long??

 

[Cloudbusting]

As much as I can appreciate the natural wonder of it, that's an interesting use of the word 'majestic'... It really reminds me of something but I can't put my finger on it, perhaps an alien from Doctor Who?

 

[Xanatic*]

It looks a bit like the Face of Boe.