Masturus
| Sharptail mola | |
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| Mounted specimen at the Museu Nacional de Historia Natural de Lisboa | |
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Not evaluated (IUCN 3.1)
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Tetraodontiformes |
| Family: | Molidae |
| Genus: |
Masturus T. N. Gill, 1884 |
| Species: | M. lanceolatus |
| Binomial name | |
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Masturus lanceolatus (É. Liénard, 1840) |
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| Synonyms | |
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Orthagoriscus lanceolatus Liénard, 1840 |
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Orthagoriscus lanceolatus Liénard, 1840
Pseudomola lassarati Cadenat, 1959
Masturus lanceolatus also known as the sharptail mola is a species of mola found circumglobally in tropical and temperate waters. It is similar in appearance to the ocean sunfish (Mola mola), but can be distinguished by the projection on its clavus (pseudo-tail). Other common names include sharpfin sunfish, point-tailed sunfish, and trunkfish. Rarely encountered, very little is known of the biology or life history of the sharptail mola. It has recently become important to commercial fisheries operating off eastern Taiwan. This species is the only member of its genus.
The distribution of the sharptail mola is worldwide in tropical and temperate waters. They are primarily inhabitants of the epipelagic zone, but are rarely sighted at the surface, with many of those appearing to be ill and parasite-ridden. During the day, they spend most of their time at depths of 5–200 m (16–656 ft), preferring water temperatures above 20 °C, but making repeated dives into cooler, deeper water, possibly to feed or to avoid predators. At night, they spend most of their time between 100 and 250 m (330 and 820 ft). They have been sighted in the mesopelagic zone to a depth of 670 m (2,200 ft), but may descend to over 1,000 m (3,300 ft). One tagged individual in the Gulf of Mexico moved an average of 10 km (6.2 mi) a day.
One of the largest bony fishes, the sharptail mola can measure up to 3.4 m (11 ft) long and weigh 2,000 kg (4,400 lb). It has an oval body with an evenly convex forehead profile. The eyes are placed more forward on the head than in the genus Mola. The teeth in both jaws are fused into beak-like plates. The dorsal and anal fins are placed posteriorly, and the base of the dorsal fin is longer than that of the anal fin. In place of a caudal fin, the dorsal and anal fins merge into a clavus, formed by 18-20 fin rays. The central rays in the clavus are supported by the last vertebra and form an elongated triangular lobe; some authors believe these rays to be remnants of the larval caudal fin, though this is disputed.
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Wikipedia