Ocean sunfish
Amazing fact
An ocean sunfish swims by flapping its dorsal and anal fins together.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
An ocean sunfish swims by flapping its dorsal and anal fins together.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Ocean sunfish
- Scientific name
- Mola mola
- Japanese name
- マンボウ
- Group
- Ocean animals
- Order
- Tetraodontiformes
- Family
- Molidae
- Genus
- Mola
Where the name “Ocean sunfish” comes from
“Mola” in its scientific name is Latin for millstone.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity WebA relative of pufferfish that roams widely through the open tropical and temperate oceans of the world.
It has no true tail fin; instead it has a "rudder fin" that works like the rudder of a ship.
How the Ocean sunfish lives
It has been observed repeatedly diving into deeper water during the day. It can swim quickly when catching food. It sometimes lies on its side at the surface and drifts with the current.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web海遊館Basic data
- Size
- Total length: about 3 m
- Range
- Temperate and tropical open oceans worldwide
Where the Ocean sunfish has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- マンボウ
- 简体中文
- 翻车鲀
- 繁體中文
- 翻車魨
- 한국어
- 개복치
- Español
- Pez luna
- Français
- Môle
- Deutsch
- Mondfisch
- Português (Brasil)
- Peixe-lua
- Italiano
- Pesce luna
- हिन्दी
- महासागरीय सूर्यमछली
- العربية
- سمكة شمس المحيط
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Molamola
- Tiếng Việt
- Cá mặt trăng
- Русский
- Обыкновенная луна-рыба
- Türkçe
- Ay balığı
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 海遊館 — マンボウChecked: 2026-11-03
- University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web — Mola molaChecked: 2026-11-03
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
Report a mistakeRELATIVES
Others in Tetraodontiformes
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