Mola Mola Fish in Galapagos

This magnificent creature usually stays in warm waters with temperatures of about 10° C (50° F), cooler temperatures may cause their disorientation or even death.

Perhaps this is why you can observe them basking in the sun close to the surface, this thermal recharging is crucial for their survival.

Isabela Island which is the largest Island to the west of the Galapagos Archipelago, has a lot to of attractions to offer.

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A dinghy ride along the cliffs of Punta Vicente Roca, allows you a close view of boobies, fur seals, sea lions, sea turtles and fantastic marine species such as the mola mola fish.

To spot one of these unforgettable fish, keep your eyes on the water: if you see something that looks like a shark or sea lion fin poking out of the water, it just may be a mola mola, that calmly and curiously, comes up near the surface.

Mola mola fish is the scientific name given to the largest fish on earth, the Ocean sunfish. Many of the sunfish's various names allude to its unique flattened shape.

Its specific name, mola, is Latin for millstone, which the fish resembles because of its grey color, rough texture, and rounded body.

Its common English name, sunfish, refers to its habit of sunbathing at the surface of the water.

This bony fish can weigh about 1 ton (2.200 pounds) and have an average length of 1.8 mt (5.9ft). They live in all tropical and temperate waters around the world.

It is hard to believe that this enormous fish feeds mainly on jelly fish, squid, crustaceans and small fish, which are considered nutritionally poor.

The mola mola fish must consume large amounts of food to maintain its size. Their teeth are fused in a beak-like structure allowing them to crush harder organisms like crabs.

Specialized teeth are found on their throats to grind the food before digestion.

Because sunfish must consume a large volume of prey, their presence in a given area may be used as an indicator of nutrient-rich waters where endangered species may be found.

The sunfish produces an enormous amount of eggs.

A 1.4m (4.5 ft) female was estimated to be carrying 300 million eggs in her single ovary, several orders of magnitude greater than most other fishes. Needless to say, the eggs are very tiny.

Galapagos Islands Tours

My recommendation is that you can enjoy more fully the different life forms, climate, sea currents and geological on week-long voyages. See Our Galapagos Land Tours

Galapagos Recommended Reading:

Wildlife of the Galapagos (Traveler's Guide)
Wildlife of the Galapagos is the most superbly illustrated and comprehensive identification guide ever to the natural splendor of these incomparable islands. (It is a well-written, informative text).

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