Fishes - Home

(42) OCEAN SUN FISH
The two species recorded from the Maharashtra coast are the common
round-tailed ocean sun sfih, Mola mola and Ranzania. Sun fish has an oval
body with thick leathery skin; the mouth is small with teeth fused together
forming a single, sharp edged bony plate or beak in each jaw. The pelvic
fins and the air-bladder are absent. It has a uniformly gray to olive-brown
colouration with silvery reflections on the sides. The fish is reputed to
grow to a size of 8 to 10 feet and a weight of more than a ton. Because of
the dorsal and the anal fins being situated far back on the body, the fish
appears to have an enormous head and, therefore, many times they are also
referred to as "Head- Fishes".
Sun fish is an inhabitant of open oceans, often seen basking in the sun
lying on its side at the surface of the sea during calm weather. It drifts
more or less passively with the ocean currents, feeding upon small fish,
jelly fishes and crustaceans.
Because of the curious shape, huge size, especially of the head region and
its habit of basking in the sun, many myths are in existence about this fish.
People in the past had attributed intelligence to this fish on account of the
enormous head region and because of its habit of basking in the sun
people thought it offered prayers to sun. But, this so-called scholarly fish
is now known for its stupidity; it will allow a boat to come right up to it
without making any efforts to escape. Though it is known to dive deep
with great agility, it rarely does so, even when in danger.
The sunfish is discredited for its lack of intelligence from the anatomical
point of view also; although it may weigh about a ton, it has a brain
weighing about 6 ozs. only. The fish has, under its skin, two to three inch
layer of hard gristly material, making harpooning difficult. It is said to be
impervious even to a bullet fired from Winchester rifles. The fish, when
captured, is said to make grunting noise.
FAUNA 129