serenastean's Identifications

NUMBER: 201109
SPECIES: Bumphead Ocean Sunfish, Mola alexandrina (Ranzani, 1839)[1]
OTHER NAME: Mola ramsayi (Giglioli, 1883)
SPECIMEN: 1 1.8-2.4 m (6-8 ft) high, including fins; 22.9-25.4 cm (9-10 in) Emperor Angelfish, Pomacanthus imperator Bloch, 1787, used for scale.
DISTINGUISHING: Bump on anterior top of head and chin, rectangular body scales, and rounded clavus (pseudo-caudal fin). [Figs. 3-5]
DATE: September 2011
DEPTH: 25.9 m (85 ft)
LOCALITY: Crystal Bay, Nusa Penida Island, Bali, Indonesia
LATITUDE, LONGITUDE: -8.715244, 115.455882
DISTRIBUTION: Worldwide in marine tropics to temperate zone, but mostly occurs in the Southern Hemisphere. Few exact records have been documented. Records are important in understanding Ocean Sunfish populations.
PHOTOGRAPHS: Taken underwater by John M. Uscian.
STATUS: Thought to be declining, but difficult to monitor and discern.
IMPORTANCE: First documented Blacklip Butterflyfish, Chaetodon kleinii (Bloch, 1790); and Emperor Angelfish cleaning Bumphead Ocean Sunfish.
SIMILAR SPECIES: We reported the first Sharptail Ocean Sunfish, Masturus lanceolatus (Lienard, 1840), from Puerto Rico (Dyer et al., 1985). It differs by having an obvious projection on its clavus (pseudo-tail). Bumphead Ocean Sunfish [or has a head bump, a chin bump, rectangular body scales, and rounded clavus. Ocean Sunfish, Mola mola Linnaeus, 1758, has a wavy (frilly) clavus (pseudo-caudal fin) edge, 11-14 clavus fin rays and conical body scales. Hoodwinker Ocean Sunfish, Mola tecta Nyegaard et al., 2017, is slimmer and sleeker than the other Ocean Sunfish, lacks a protruding snout and lumps along the clavus, and has spines for scales. Dwarf Ocean Sunfish, Ranzania laevis (Pennant, 1776) has a much smaller and more elongate adult.
OBSERVERS: Dr. Ernest H. Williams, Jr.,[2,3,5,6] Dr. John M. Uscian,[8] and Dr. Lucy Bunkley-Williams[2,4,5,7]
REFERENCES:
Dyer, W. G., E. H. Williams, Jr., and L. B. Williams. 1985. Digenetic trematodes of marine fishes of the western and southwestern coasts of Puerto Rico. Proceedings of the Helminthological Society of Washington 52: 85 94. [63]
Parkinson, K. 2021. Ocean Sunfish, Mola mola (Linnaeus, 1758). Australian Museum.https://australian.museum/learn/animals/fishes/ocean-sunfish-mola-mola/#:~:text=Sunfishes%20are%20found%20worldwide%20in,in%20latin%20means%20%27rudder%27.
Saito, T, T. Noguchi, Y. Shida, T. Abe, and K. Hashimoto. 1991. Screening of tetrodotoxin and its derivatives in puffer related species. Bulletin of the Japanese Society for the Science of Fish 57 (8).
Williams, E. H., Jr., J. M. Uscian, and L. Bunkley-Williams. 2023. First Record of Blacklip Butterflyfish and Emperor Angelfish Cleaning of the Bumphead Ocean Sunfish. iNaturalist #185780566, 1 October 2023 (open access), ResearchGate [892].
FOOTNOTES:
[1]Identification was peer-reviewed, text edited and usually condensed. The original text is in our reprint #892 and ResearchGate. [2]Extraordinary Professors, Potchefstroom Campus, North-West University, South Africa; Adjunct Professors, Research Field Station, Florida Gulf Coast University, 5164 Bonita Beach Road, Bonita Springs, FL 34134; [3]Dept. Marine Sciences, University of Puerto Rico (retired); [4]Dept. Biology, UPR (retired); [5]920 St. Andrews Blvd, Naples, FL 34113-8943; [6]e-mail ermest.williams1@upr.edu; ORCID 0000-0003-0913-3013; [7]e-mail lucy.williams1@upr.edu, ORCID 0000-0003-1390-911x; [8]Dept. Biology, UPR

Figure 1. Bumphead Ocean Sunfish right side cleaned by Blacklip Butterflyfish (small fishes) Emperor Angelfish (large fish), JMU photos
Figure 2. same, left side
Figure 3. Bumphead Ocean Sunfish
Figure 4. Oblique view
Figure 5. In distance