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Mola tecta

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Mola tecta
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Tetraodontiformes
Family: Molidae
Genus: Mola
Species:
M. tecta
Binomial name
Mola tecta
Nyegaard et al., 2017
Mola tecta compared to Mola alexandrini

The hoodwinker sunfish (Mola tecta)[1] is a large and flat bony fish located in temperate waters. The Latin word "tecta" means hidden, and has been adopted as the name due to the fish blending among other species of sunfish for a prolonged time and only being discovered recently.[2] Belonging to the family Molidae and genus Mola, the hoodwinker sunfish is closely related to the more widely known species: The ocean sunfish (Mola mola). Discovered on a beach near Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2015, it was the first new species of sunfish to be identified in 130 years. Mola tecta are mostly discovered in the temperate region of the Southern Hemisphere in the water near Australia, New Zealand, Southern Chile and Southern Africa.[3] It was first described by Marianne Nyegaard, a marine scientist who studied ocean sunfish for her PhD.[4]

Description

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The hoodwinker sunfish is a congener of (in the same genus as) the more widely known ocean sunfish, Mola mola. Mola tecta, like other Mola species, has a flat, almost symmetrical oval shape. It can be distinguished to have a smooth body shape, lack of a head bump, a rounded snout[5], and a maximum length of 242 cm (about 7.9 feet).[6] It does not have spines in its fins nor real caudal fin (tail fin).[6] Its scales have evolved into small spines. Like cartilaginous fish, Mola tecta has counter shading, which means that it has a darker color on the dorsal side than on the ventral side.[6] Compared to other Mola species, Mola tecta is slimmer, has a sleeker adult body shape, and lacks a protruding snout and lumps along the tail fin, which is the easiest discernable feature amongst the Mola species. It reaches up to three metres in length and can weigh up to two tonnes (2.0 long tons; 2.2 short tons).[7] Parasites are found in all the dissected Mola tecta.

Mola tecta washed ashore in New Zealand

History

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There are three extant species under the genus Mola: Mola mola, Mola alexandrini, and Mola tecta.[8]

Mola mola is the most common known ocean sunfish and was found in 1758 and Mola alexandrini (also called Mola ramsayi) was found 81 years afterward, in 1839.[8][1] In comparison to its two relatives, Mola tecta was found recently in 2014.[9] In 2004, ten years before Mola tecta was officially named, Japanese researchers found out that there was a new Mola species based on the genetic information they obtained from the Australian water. However, they were not able to obtain more information about this new Mola species and they did not know exactly what it looked like.[10] According to Marianne Nyegaard, the first person to describe the Mola tecta, sunfish research is difficult because "finding and storing specimens for studies is a logistical nightmare for museums due to their elusive nature and enormous size".[11]

Life History

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Mola tecta have very little known about their life history due to lack of research. The species begins life as a small, spined, and planktonic larva with fins[12]. Over time, these traits are lost and hoodwinker sunfish begin to develop an oval-shaped body and distinct dorsal and pectoral fins[13]. Hoodwinker sunfish are dioecious, externally laying eggs in the open water as a form of reproduction[1]. Little is known to clarify aspects about reproduction such as seasonal patterns in the species, but the hoodwinker sunfish inhabits temperate regions in the Southern Hemisphere[14], occasionally reported to wash ashore in the Northern hemisphere and subtropical regions.

Mola mola larvae showcasing similar traits to Mola tecta larvae

Distribution

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Discovered on a beach near Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2014, the hoodwinker sunfish was the first new species of sunfish to be identified in 130 years.[7] It is thought to live primarily in the Southern Hemisphere and has been found in waters off New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, and Chile.[7][15][16] There are, however, multiple[17][18][19] recorded cases of it being found in the Northern Hemisphere, such as one (previously thought to be a Mola mola) in Ameland in the Netherlands in 1889[20] and a 7-foot (2.1 m) specimen that washed up near Santa Barbara, California, in 2019.[21][22][23] Mola alexandrini, another Mola species, has been found in the Southern Pacific. Mola mola, in comparison, is the most widespread species and has been found in all the major oceans except for the polar area.[1]

Mola tecta washed ashore in Woodend Beach Domain, NZ
Map of the Earth with gray land masses, southern hemisphere is highlighted in yellow

Diet

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Similarly to the other sunfish species, Mola tecta diet is known to consist of salps and nektonic siphonophores due to these two organisms being found in the digestive tract of Mola tecta.[6] Mola tecta believed to be zooplanktivores, foraging through the water column as well as near the surface to consume prey in open-ocean waters.

Conservation Status

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As of 2025, the hoodwinker sunfish has not been evaluated by the IUCN, and does not have a conservation status yet. Under IUCN criteria, the species is considered Not Evaluated (NE)[1]. No specific threats have been documented for Mola tecta, but the species may have similar pressures to the sunfish species such as habitat degradation, commercial fisheries, marine pollution, or ingestion of plastic debris[24].

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel, eds. (April 2024). "Mola tecta". FishBase.
  2. ^ "new giant sunfish species discovered". museum of new zealand te papa. 20 July 2017. Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  3. ^ Zdanowicz, Christina (March 4, 2019). "a huge, strange-looking fish washed up on a California beach. Scientist say it is a first". Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  4. ^ Leachman, Shelly (February 27, 2019). "Hoodwinked". Archived from the original on 21 March 2019. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  5. ^ Mowatt-Larssen, Tor; Thys, Tierney M.; Hildering, Jackie; Caldera, Eric J.; Biesack, Ellen E.; McDowell, Jan R.; Nyegaard, Marianne (8 January 2025). "Hook, line, and social media: crowd-sourced images reveal size and species patterns of ocean sunfishes (Tetraodontiformes, Molidae) from California to Alaska". Frontiers in Marine Science. 11 1482873. Bibcode:2025FrMaS..1182873M. doi:10.3389/fmars.2024.1482873.
  6. ^ a b c d Nyegaard, Marianne (2018). "Hiding in broad daylight: molecular and morphological data reveal a new ocean sunfish species (Tetraodontiformes: Molidae) that has eluded recognition". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 182 (3). The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society: 631–658. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlx040. Archived from the original on 22 March 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  7. ^ a b c Williams, Janice (24 July 2017). "New and biggest species of sunfish found in New Zealand after 130 years of searching". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 29 January 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  8. ^ a b Sawai, Etsuro (2018). "Redescription of the bump-head sunfish Mola alexandrini (Ranzani 1839), senior synonym of Mola ramsayi (Giglioli 1883), with designation of a neotype for Mola mola (Linnaeus 1758) (Tetraodontiformes: Molidae)". Ichthyological Research. 65 (1): 142–160. Bibcode:2018IchtR..65..142S. doi:10.1007/s10228-017-0603-6. S2CID 10364811. Archived from the original on 2021-07-03. Retrieved 2021-07-03.
  9. ^ Williams, Janice (2017-07-24). "New and biggest species of sunfish found in New Zealand after 130 years of searching". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 2019-03-27. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
  10. ^ "new giant sunfish species discovered". museum of new zealand te papa. 20 July 2017. Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  11. ^ "new giant sunfish species discovered". museum of new zealand te papa. 20 July 2017. Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  12. ^ Parkinsion, Kerryn. "Hoodwinker Sunfish, Mola tecta Nyegaard et al 2017". The Australian Museum. Retrieved 15 November 2025.
  13. ^ "Mola / Sunfish Research". MERS Marine Education & Research Society. 7 November 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2025.
  14. ^ Parkinsion, Kerryn. "Hoodwinker Sunfish, Mola tecta Nyegaard et al 2017". The Australian Museum. Retrieved 15 November 2025.
  15. ^ Lang, Hannah (20 July 2017). "Massive Two-Ton Fish Species Discovered". National Geographic. Archived from the original on 24 July 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  16. ^ Sánchez, Rodrigo (29 August 2017). "Peces de Chile: El Mola Tecta o Pez Luna Timador". Buceando Chile (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2018-10-14. Retrieved 2018-10-14.
  17. ^ Hauck, Grace (February 22, 2020). "How a bizarre, monster fish hoodwinked researchers and reeled in a wave of citizen scientists". USA TODAY. Archived from the original on June 9, 2024. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  18. ^ Prévost-Manuel, Jade (February 2, 2021). "Meet the hoodwinker, the ocean sunfish we misidentified for years". CBC News. Archived from the original on June 9, 2024. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  19. ^ Nyegaard, Marianne (March 1, 2021). Marianne Nyegaard | Hood-winking as an Artform: Mola tecta Surfaces in Californian Current System (Video). Exploring By The Seat Of Your Pants. Archived from the original on June 8, 2024. Retrieved June 8, 2024 – via YouTube.
  20. ^ "New in the autumn collection of Naturalis: Mola tecta". Leiden, NL: Naturalis Biodiversity Center. Archived from the original on 3 March 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  21. ^ "Hoodwinker sunfish: Rare fish washes up on California beach". BBC News. 2 March 2019. Archived from the original on 30 March 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  22. ^ "Rare sea creature washes ashore in Southern California". Associated Press. 1 March 2019. Archived from the original on 30 May 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  23. ^ Zdanowicz, Christina (1 March 2019). "A huge, strange-looking fish washed up on a California beach. Scientists say it's a first". CNN. Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  24. ^ "Ocean Sunfishes ~ MarineBio Conservation Society". www.marinebio.org. Retrieved 15 November 2025.

Further reading

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  • Nyegaard, M.; et al. (2017). "Hiding in broad daylight: molecular and morphological data reveal a new ocean sunfish species (Tetraodontiformes: Molidae) that has eluded recognition". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 182 (3): 631–658. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlx040.
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