Sharptail mola

Spitzschwanz - sunfish; Specimen in the Natural History Museum of Lisbon.

The pointed tail sunfish ( Masturus lanceolatus ( Gr. " mastax " = bite, " oura " = tail; Lat: . " Lanceolatus " = lanceolate ) ) is a rare and little known species of sunfish ( Molidae ). The range of the species is known only imprecisely. Maybe the kind occurs worldwide in tropical and temperate seas. She lives in depths up to 670 meters.

Features

The pointed tail sunfish reaches a maximum length of 3.3 meters and a maximum weight of two tons. In contrast to the well-known ocean sunfish ( Mola mola ), the body of the pointed tail sunfish is not like a millstone round but oval and 1.5 times longer than high. The middle part of the apparent tail fin ( clavus ) is extended and forms the eponymous peak. It is very long for juveniles and becomes shorter with age. The rest of the tail fin is not well shaped, as Mola mola at. Dorsal and anal fin are symmetrically opposite each other, are tall and narrow and are supported 15-19 fins radiate like cartilage rods. Both fins are far back on the body.