Interesting Facts About Hoodwinker Sunfish (Mola tecta).

 

Interesting Facts About Hoodwinker Sunfish (Mola tecta)








Kingdom :-                       Animalia

Phylum :-                         Chordata

Subphylum :-                  Vertebrata

Class :-                              Actinopterygii

Order :-                            Tetraodontiformes

Family :-                          Molidae

Genus :-                           Mola

Species :-                         tecta

Lives in :-                        Water

Diet :-                               Carnivore




         The hoodwinker sunfish is scientifically known as Mola tecta. Where "Mola" is the genus and "tecta" is the species. "Mola" comes from the Latin word "molae", which means "millstone" and "tecta" is also a Latin word, which means "hidden". The term "tecta" has been taken as the name of its species, because it looks very similar to its other sunfish species and is very difficult to find. It is a newly discovered organism, which is a species of sunfish. It was discovered in 2015, on a beach near Christchurch, New Zealand. Marianne Nyegaard was the first scientist to describe Mola tecta when she was researching about Ocean sunfish for her PhD, in 2017. Mola tecta is found mainly in the seas of the temperate region of the Southern Hemisphere near New Zealand, Chile, Australia & Southern Africa.



Hoodwinker Sunfish (Mola tecta)
Hoodwinker Sunfish (Mola tecta)





History :-

        Three types of species fall under the family molidae such as Mola mola, Mola alexandrini ( Also known as Mola ramsayi ) and Mola tecta. The first molidae family was found in 1758, when Mola mola was found (commonly known as Ocean sunfish). In 1883, Mola alexandrini was found and Mola tecta was found in 2015.


Shape and Size of Mola tecta :-

        Mola tecta is a flat and almost symmetrical oval shaped fish like other sunfish. Its maximum length is about 7.9 feet. Its body is smooth and there are no lumps on its body. The Mola tecta fins have no spine and they have no tail fin ( also known as cadual fin). The dorsal color of Mola tecta is black while its ventral color is white. It is larger than its other sunfish species. It can grow up to 3 meters in length and up to 2 tonnes in weight.



Biological Information :-

        Mola tecta is a carnivorous sunfish. It eats salps and nectonic siphonophore. Parasites are found in large quantities in a dissected Mola tecta. They also have different reproductive organs. The ovary of the female Mola tecta is singular and ball-shaped while the male has a pair of testis.






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