Family Molidae - Molas or Ocean Sunfishes
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Order |
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Class |
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Actinopterygii |
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No. in FishBase |
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Genera : 3 | Species : 4 Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes |
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Environment |
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Fresh : No |
Brackish : No |
Marine : Yes |
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Division |
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Marine |
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Aquarium |
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none |
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First Fossil Record |
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upper
Tertiary
Miocene |
Ref.. Berg, L.S. 1958 | |
Remark |
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Distribution: worldwide in tropical to temperate seas. Mouth tiny; teeth united and beaklike (Ref. 50659). Jaws with 2 fused teeth. Each side of head with 2 tiny nostrils. Dorsal and anal fins lacking spines, but provides the power for locomotion. Caudal peduncle absent. Caudal fin, when present, a pseudocaudal fin being formed by posteriorly migrated dorsal and anal fin rays. No lateral line. No swim bladder. Vertebrae 16-18 (Ref. 245). Pelvic fins absent. Skin leathery and thick. Gill openings small, in front of pectoral fins. Gray above, silvery gray-brown on sides, paler or dusky below. Two species grow to about 3 m in length, largest to 1,500 kg. Fecundity can register an estimated 300,000,000 eggs in Mola mola. Young are spiny and differ markedly from adults. Slow-swimming, epipelagic plankton feeders; some prey on jellyfishes but also feed on algae, crustaceans and fishes (Ref. 50659). |
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Etymology |
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Latin, mola = millstone, by the shape of this fish ( Ref. 45335). |
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Reproductive guild |
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nonguarders |
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Typical activity level |
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Coordinator |
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Osteichthyes | Actinopterygii | Actinopteri | Neopterygii | Teleostei | Osteoglossocephalai | Clupeocephala | Euteleosteomorpha | Neoteleostei | Eurypterygia | Ctenosquamata | Acanthomorphata | Euacanthomorphacea | Percomorphaceae | Percomorpharia | Tetraodontiformes | Moloidei | Molidae |
Important recommendation:
The list below must not be used as an authority reference synonymy list like those found in scientific published revisions, which must be the source to be used and cited eventually when they exist.
Rather, it reflects the current content of FishBase, and the progress with respect to synchronization with the Catalog of Fishes. However, we think it can be useful for users to assess the quality of information in FishBase, to start new work on the family, or to cross-check with other lists.
But we appreciate to be cited in publications when this list has been of any working value. In particular, for published scientific, we suggest then to cite it in the Material and Method section as a useful tool to conduct the research, but again, not as a taxonomic or nomenclatural authority reference.
Unless it is explicitly precised, the list is not complete, please search all original names published for the family in the Catalog of Fishes (genera, species), including those with uncertain or unknown status, that are not included in FishBase when they are not attached to a valid species.
This list uses some data from Catalog of Fishes (not shown but used to sort names).
In the column CofF, the digit indicates the status of synchronization with CofF: 0: Not checked; 1: Same status; 2: Different status; 3: Other combination; 4: Synonym in CofF; 5: Species/Subspecies issue; 6: Synonym of another species in CofF; 7: Not in CofF; 8: Should not be in CofF. The CofF version currently used is the one published on 23-07-2014 (Ref. 97102).
The list ordered as follows:
Please send comments and corrections if you detect errors or missing names.
Scientifc name | Status | Senior/Junior synonym | Combination | CofF |
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Mola mola (Linnaeus, 1758) | accepted | senior | new | |
Tetraodon mola Linnaeus, 1758 | synonym | senior | original | 2 |
Orthragoriscus mola (Linnaeus, 1758) | synonym | senior | new | |
Mola aculeata Koelreuter, 1766 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Diodon mola Pallas, 1770 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Diodon nummularis Walbaum, 1792 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Mola rotunda Cuvier, 1797 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Orthragoriscus hispidus Bloch & Schneider, 1801 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Orthragoriscus fasciatus Bloch & Schneider, 1801 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Cephalus brevis Shaw, 1804 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Cephalus pallasianus Shaw, 1804 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Diplanchias nasus Rafinesque, 1810 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Orthragus luna Rafinesque, 1810 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Mola aspera Nardo, 1827 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Mola hispida Nardo, 1827 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Cephalus ortagoriscus Risso, 1827 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Diodon carinatus Mitchill, 1828 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Pedalion gigas Guilding, 1838 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Ozodura orsini Ranzani, 1839 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Tympanomium planci Ranzani, 1839 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Trematopsis willugbei Ranzani, 1839 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Orthragoriscus retzii Ranzani, 1839 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Orthragoriscus ghini Ranzani, 1839 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Orthragoriscus rondeletii Ranzani, 1839 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Orthragoriscus blochii Ranzani, 1839 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Orthragoriscus alexandrini Ranzani, 1839 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Orthragoriscus redi Ranzani, 1839 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Orthragoriscus elegans Ranzani, 1839 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Molacanthus pallasii Swainson, 1839 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Orthragoriscus lunaris Gronow, 1854 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
! Orthagoriscus analis Ayres, 1859 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Orthragoriscus analis Ayres, 1859 | synonym | junior | original | |
Aledon storeri Castelnau, 1861 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Aledon capensis Castelnau, 1861 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Mola ramsayi (Giglioli, 1883) | accepted | senior | new | |
Orthragoriscus ramsayi Giglioli, 1883 | synonym | senior | original | 2 |
! Orthagoriscus eurypterus Philippi, 1892 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Orthragoriscus eurypterus Philippi, 1892 | synonym | junior | original | |
Ranzania laevis (Pennant, 1776) | accepted | senior | new | |
Ostracion laevis Pennant, 1776 | synonym | senior | original | 2 |
Tetrodon truncatus Retzius, 1785 | synonym | senior | original | 2 |
Orthragoriscus truncatus (Retzius, 1785) | synonym | junior | new | |
Ranzania truncata (Retzius, 1785) | synonym | junior | new | |
Tetraodon truncatus Retzius, 1785 | synonym | junior | original | |
Diodon dimidiatus Walbaum, 1792 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Orthragoriscus oblongus Bloch & Schneider, 1801 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Cephalus oblongus Shaw, 1804 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Cephalus varius Shaw, 1804 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Orthragus oblongus Rafinesque, 1810 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Mola planci Nardo, 1827 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Cephalus elongatus Risso, 1827 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Cephalus cocherani Traill, 1832 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Orthragoriscus battarae Ranzani, 1839 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Ranzania typus Nardo, 1840 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Ostracion boops Richardson, 1845 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Orthragoriscus solaris Gronow, 1854 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Ranzania makua Jenkins, 1895 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Masturus lanceolatus (Liénard, 1840) | accepted | senior | new | |
Orthagoriscus lanceolatus Liénard, 1840 | synonym | senior | original | 2 |
Masturus lanceolata (Liénard, 1840) | synonym | senior | new | |
Mola lanceolata (Liénard, 1840) | synonym | senior | new | |
Mola lanceolatus (Liénard, 1840) | synonym | senior | new | |
Orthagoriscus oxyuropterus Bleeker, 1873 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |
Masturus oxyuropterus (Bleeker, 1873) | synonym | junior | new | |
Pseudomola lassarati Cadenat, 1959 | synonym | junior | original | 2 |