Recently, some fisherman spotted numerous Mola Mola fish off the coast of California. The bizarre looking ocean sunfish has people talking, especially after National Geographic's photographer Daniel Botelho posted a photo of the large, flat Mola Mola on his Facebook page. Now some are wondering what exactly this strange fish is, but the Mola Mola isn't the isn't weird-looking fish in the world's water.
Here is a list of some water oddities, including the Mola Mola.
Mola Mola
The Mola Mola is an ocean sunfish. With it's flat body and fins on the top and bottom of it's body, as opposed to on it's sides, this fish has people scratching their heads. These fish are found in almost every ocean in the world, but they prefer warm, tropical waters. They can get massive, measuring up to 10-feet long and 14-feet high form fin to fin. They can also weigh up to 5,000 pounds. Their food of choice is jellyfish, but since jellyfish are not nutritionally rich, the Mola Mola consume mass amounts at a time.
Alligator Gar
This fish is a strange looking one as it has the body of a typical fish, but it also has a mouth similar to an alligator's, teeth and all. It has an elongated snout which holds a dual row of large teeth in the upper jaw. The measure between 8 to10 feet and weight at least 200 pounds, making it the largest exclusively fresh water fish in North America. They are typically found in the Southern U.S, in rivers along the Gulf Coast. Another strange fact is that they can survive outside of the water for up to two hours.
Barreleye Fish
The Barreleye fish, or spook fish, is indeed spooky. It was named after its barrel shaped eyes, but that isn't what makes it odd. They're unusual because of their large transparent head. Their see-through head looks like a fighter pilot cockpit. They are a deep sea fish, found in tropial waters of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans.
Deep Sea Angler Fish
This fish was made famous after it made an appearance in the animated movie "Finding Nemo." This bony fish has a growth from it's head, which looks like an antenna. This addition helps them to do some fishing of their own as it is used as a lure to bring in prey nice and close. These fish live thousands of meters below the surface, where there is mostly darkness. The growth on its head has a small light, which attracts its victims, bringing them close to the angel fish's razor sharp teeth. Prey doesn't last too long once they fall for this trap.
Oarfish
This rare fish is weird due to it's very long body. This long silver ribbon-like fish is found in almost all tropical waters. They have several long dorsal fin rays along its back, with the first 10 to 12 elongated. One species of the oarfish, the king of herrings, is in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the largest bony fish alive, measuring at 56 feet long.
Blobfish
This fish isn't just odd looking, it's downright UGLY. It also looks pretty miserable as it's mouth faces downwards. The fat, fleshy, pink deep sea fish looks like, well, a blob. It lives thousands of feet below sea level in waters in Australia and Tasmania. Not only is this creature fat and unfortunate looking; it is also lazy. It uses as little energy as possible, even during eating. It will eat whatever happens to be floating by it.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
