Scientists were easily skeptical when they were told in December 2021 that a giant fish carcass had been found floating off Faial Island in Portugal’s Azores archipelago in the mid-Atlantic. It ends up being the size of a fish. However, their skepticism was quickly put to rest when they saw the fish. It was the largest bony fish they had ever seen. In fact, it might have been the biggest thing I’ve ever seen.
Weighing just over 6,000 pounds, about the same weight as a Chevrolet Suburban, and measuring over 10 feet long, the sunfish is a species of sunfish and is believed to be the heaviest bony fish ever recorded. scientists say.
Over 90% of fish have a bony skeleton and thus fall into the teleost category. This sets them apart from sharks, rays, and some fish with cartilaginous skeletons. No bony fish has ever come close to the size of the largest cartilaginous fish, the whale shark, but the size of the sunfish found in the Azores is impressive.
“It’s very rare these days to find large fish due to overfishing and habitat degradation,” said Cory Evans, a fish ecologist at Rice University who wasn’t involved in finding the SUV-sized sunfish.
The last bony fish recorded anywhere near that size was a female of the same species caught in Japan in 1996 that weighed about 5,070 pounds and was about 8.9 feet wide.
The giant sunfish found in the Azores “is not an anomaly due to its extreme size,” says a marine biologist at Atlantic Naturalist. study It was published earlier this month in the Journal of Fish Biology, which documented the specimen. “This species can be this size.
Aside from their size, mora are known for their clumsy swimming style. Unlike most fish, the mora uses its dorsal and anal fins to propel its massive, massive body through the water. This is done slowly and haphazardly. Open-ocean fish are often found floating sideways on the surface of the water. Scientists believe it’s because seabirds keep themselves warm, or because it makes it easier for seabirds to eat skin parasites.
After local fishermen and sailors spotted the sunfish floating near the Azores, a group of scientists from the research nonprofit Atlantic Naturalists and the local Marine and Wildlife Authority towed the body to the port of Horta. , was pulled ashore using a forklift.
Dr. Gomes-Pereira and his colleagues measured the length, weight and stomach contents of the fish over several hours. Mora’s approximately eight-inch-thick skin made dissection particularly difficult. The fish was too large to be preserved in a local museum, so it was buried on a nearby hillside.
Scientists have been unable to determine the exact age of the fish, but Dr. Gómez Pereira believes the creature was at least 20 years old. No one knows how long these animals will live, although estimates suggest it is near the end of its lifespan.
The life of this particular fish may have been shortened. While examining the fish, Dr. Gomez Pereira noticed a large bruise on the side of the animal’s head. It could be a sign that a fish has hit the boat. Scientists believe Azorean sailors need to slow down and be more mindful of their impact on marine wildlife.
At the same time, Dr. Gomez Pereira hopes that the fish’s discovery will show people that the ocean is still healthy enough to feed the largest animals on earth, and encourage people to do more to protect it. “This is a wake-up call to us in terms of the need for further conservation measures,” he said.