Mola alexandrini

The sea is an element full of surprises! It surprises in being sometimes peaceful, sometimes wild! It is surprising in its biodiversity! In today’s logbook entry we would like to report about a very extraordinary being.

There he drifted in the bright blue, like a huge, flat “disc” quite insidious and at the same time full of the most beautiful grace. Anyone who has ever seen a Sunfish (Mola alexandrini) will certainly not forget it.

Anyone who imagines a fish as it is drawn by a child’s hand, may wonder how different this quaint fellow looks. Without the classic caudal fin, without the typical tail fins, he trundles through his blue life space. It stands out that as the largest of the bony fishes (diameter up to 3,30m / 2t weight) and has its distinct fins on top of the back and on the underside of the body. He does not even have scales, as we know it from normal fish. Instead, he is protected by a 7.5cm thick, leathery elastic skin.

This fishy miracle of nature, though we rarely see it, is extremely fertile! During a spawning process, the Sunfish can release up to 300 million eggs into the sea. How touching that the small larvae are only 3mm long at the beginning of their amazing life. How touching that nature gives them five long spines to protect against predators on the way. In the course of their development process, these are then formed back.

If you want to experience the feeling of the two sightings and would like to know more about feeding habits, diving depth and meaning of their name, immerse yourself in our two blogs (30.04.2019 – Beauty and the Beast  and 01.06.2019 – Sparkling Water)

For our guests, such an extraordinary encounter is a feast for the eyes. Convince yourself, you can take a look at the video HERE (video by Daniel Jardim)

We are always deeply amazed to be able to abduct our guests to such adventures again and again.

by Fatima Kutzschbach