Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Mola mola
pez luna, pez sol oceánico, mola mola, Ocean sunfish
Ovular compressed head and no tail; tall dorsal and anal fins and small pectorals. Silvery gray upper body with white below. Up to lengths of 3 m and weights of 2,000kg
Habitat: Open water off the west coasts of Isabela and Fernandina.
Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Teleostei
Order
Tetraodontiformes
Family
Molidae
Genus
Mola
Species
mola
Taxon category: Accepted
Syn.: Aledon capensis Castelnau, 1861, Aledon storeri Castelnau, 1861, Cephalus brevis Shaw, 1804, Cephalus ortagoriscus Risso, 1827, Cephalus pallasianus Shaw, 1804, Diodon carinatus Mitchill, 1828, Diodon mola Pallas, 1770, Diodon nummularis Walbaum, 1792, Diplanchias nasus Rafinesque, 1810, Mola aculeata Koelreuter, 1766 (synonym), Mola aspera Nardo, 1827, Mola hispida Nardo, 1827, Mola rotunda Cuvier, 1798, Molacanthus pallasii Swainson, 1839, Orthagoriscus mola (synonym), Orthragoriscus alexandrini Ranzani, 1839, Orthragoriscus analis Ayres, 1859, Orthragoriscus blochii Ranzani, 1839, Orthragoriscus elegans Ranzani, 1839, Orthragoriscus fasciatus Bloch & Schneider, 1801, Orthragoriscus ghini Ranzani, 1839, Orthragoriscus hispidus Bloch & Schneider, 1801, Orthragoriscus lunaris Gronow, 1854, Orthragoriscus mola (Linnaeus, 1758), Orthragoriscus redi Ranzani, 1839, Orthragoriscus retzii Ranzani, 1839, Orthragoriscus rondeletti Ranzani, 1839, Orthragus luna Rafinesque, 1810, Ozodura orsini Ranzani, 1839, Pedalion gigas Guilding, 1838, Tetraodon mola Linnaeus, 1758 (synonym), Trematopsis willugbei Ranzani, 1839, Tympanomium planci Ranzani, 1839, fide Appeltans et al. (2010)
Origin: Native
Distribution: circumtropical; in the eastern Pacific from California to Chile and Ecuador in Galapagos, Circumtropical. Potentially throughout the entire eastern pacific with the exception of the Gulf of California.
- Grove, J.S. Lavenberg, R.J. (1997) The Fishes of the Galapagos Islands. Stanford University Press, Stanford California. 862 pp.
- Humann, P. Deloach, N. (2003) Reef Fish Identification - Galapagos. New World Publication, Inc. Florida USA & Libri Mundi, Quito, Ecuador, 226 pp.
- Appeltans, W. Bouchet, P., Boxshall, G.A., Fauchald, K., Gordon, D.P., Hoeksema, B.W., Poore, G.C.B., van Soest, R.W.M., Stöhr, S., Walter, T.C., Costello, M.J. (eds.) (2010) World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). Available online at http://www.marinespecies.org.
- IUCN (2010) IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.1. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 26 April 2010.
- McCosker, J.E. Rosenblatt, R.H. (2010) The fishes of the Galápagos Archipelago: an update. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sc., Ser. 4, vol. 61, Suppl. II, no. 11: 167-195.
- Constant, P. (2007) Marine Life of the Galapagos. The Diver's guide to Fishes, Whales, Dolphins and marine Invertebrates, 307 pp.
- Hickin, N. (1979) Animal life of the Galapagos. Ferundune Books, Faringdon, U.K., 236 pp.
- IUCN (2023) The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2022-2 Https://www.iucnredlist.org
You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.
This page should be cited as follows:
"Galapagos Species Database, Mola mola", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=7829. Accessed 16 July 2025.