The unusual way a sunfish swims

[@UncleRJ]

These guys are like the vertical version of stingrays but a lot weirder.

[@swastikbiswas8293]

One of the best descriptions ever

[@shafqatishan437]

Also a bit like flatfish

[@samthekashman]

I still can’t believe these thing’s actually survive for years out there. Looks like it’d last a day

[@E.after.D.I.am.T.H]

I mean they look half eaten, so probably predators dont bother much.

[@KingSlat730]

probably scary like a pufferfish type

[@FukaiKokoro]

@thomaz-wh4ox but in the ocean wouldn't that make it more vulnerable to predators? Because alot of predators will see something that looks injured and eat it.

[@E.after.D.I.am.T.H]

@@FukaiKokoro thats a point, but then considering that there isnt any bleeding or decay, the usual attraction isn't there

[@samthekashman]

@@FukaiKokoro looks like this thing is betting everything on nothing big enough to eat it coming along

[@jacobcox4565]

Fun Fact: If a Mola has parasites, it'll swim to the surface and float on its side so passing seabirds can land on it and pick the parasites off of its body.

[@kiwi113]

Literally Dinner plates of the sea

[@royk7712]

@@kiwi113 mola taste like sh1t

[@raidtheferry]

Hey! I've seen that short too :P

[@jacobcox4565]

@@raidtheferry I didn't watch whatever short you're referring to. I got it from a documentary.

[@YoungGandalf2325]

The first thing I noticed about the Mola was its pleasant personality. Don't judge a fish by its cover.

[@adas5698]

They look adorable.

[@Wayclarke]

Nature's version of putting a nail in a wall by placing a hammer on the floor, placing the nail on the hammer, ripping the wall off and banging it against the hammer.

[@KermitTFYT]

Yea bro. This was awesome.

[@glennosmond4306]

You publicly ridicule my techniques? I suppose you won't rehire me to finish the work on your roof now?

[@stonedsasquatch]

Isn't that how you build a wall

[@iamweird3919]

Well, the task was to fix the nail in place by kinetic force... not to hang a portrait.

[@bruhbun]

Some researchers think that they lack the ability to feel pain, because they don't freak out and flop around when being attacked and eaten. But maybe its just the lack of the bilateral muscles and slow movement of their rigid body that gives us the impression that they dont feel pain, because they look to be still in a "calm" state? Im sure there's other reasons for their hypothesis, but its still interesting (and kinda sad) to think about....

[@TheAlgorath]

The most convincing argument I've heard is they don't have the brain power to react quickly, so it's more like 56k modemn - by the time it registers it's done

[@Unfortunately_Mickey]

If they have nerve endings, they feel pain. People just personify everything and if it doesn't look the way they think pain should look, it's not recognized. People also buy 5 gallon tanks for goldfish. We're idiots.

[@ldmtag]

​@@Unfortunately_Mickey how big they actually need?

[@keckingrabbit354]

​@@ldmtag75 gallons for a normal goldfish, 20 gallons for a fancy goldfish. Honestly these fish make too much poop and the fancy varieties are weak as hell, they're not good for beginners, unless the beginner has a large tank and they want a normal goldfish. Normal goldfish are hella easy to keep in a large tank, basically impossible to kill.

[@tron9683]

Go watch the entire video, she cooked this thing for 2 minutes straight.

[@JG-zs8tr]

Damn she’s still roasting this poor fish.

[@ewcq11]

This fish looks like what a kid would draw

[@jeroenw9853]

"In normal fish..." ouch 🥹

[@talonflame_brawlstars.7208]

I actually look at these guys and genuinely start to feel bad. Dont know why

[@toads13]

it feels like looking at those inbred dog breeds that are just born to suffer. but like, it somehow evolved to be this fucked up looking all on its own

[@MaximilianonMars]

They look disabled, I get it. Looks painful.

[@stephenantonsson_II]

Ah yes, the evil sea Pringle.

[@joeybulford5266]

It’s like a sideways manta, and it’s ridiculous.

[@danabananaz]

Their dumb little face is so cute 🥰

[@infernaldaedra]

I don't care what anyone says about the sun fish I think it's a cool looking creature and people forget that life always tries different things to create diversity.

[@mollymcgregor9623]

Its like a sideways water bird. Its so ugly-cute. I love them!! ❤️

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

There are not a lot of creatures I would use the term _goofy lookin'_ to describe, but these guys got it down...😊

[@AnnoyD]

The way these vertical flounders survived this long is because they pump out literal millions of offspring per go.

[@oshkeet]

The most at a time of any vertebrate, I think?

[@danielson95000]

Its almost like some fish got bit in half and just kept going as is.

[@oshkeet]

Ironically, that actually happens too.

[@captainc0rgi]

The lack of scales also makes it extremely prone to parasites and im pretty sure its just a free buffet for a motivated predator. How has this thing not gone extinct?

[@jojotrash2199]

They make an insane amount of babies. It's the "edible nugget animal that survives off of sheer numbers" of the sea.

[@captainc0rgi]

@@jojotrash2199 one of the survival strategies of all time

[@Mr.ChaosPollensAllAround]

The Silver Platter Of The Sea

[@dahat1992]

"Folds in on itself *indefinitely*"? What is that even supposed to mean?

[@_Stormfather]

It means she doesn't know the meaning of the word

[@bluemonster5235]

Pretty sure it means it just keeps growing, reaching no stopping point.

[@asbritt0519]

It's when it's divided by 0

[@michaelmaxim7207]

To the point of bending reality.

[@wordreet]

Mola Mola, so cool they named it twice!

[@EAGLEYES112]

Thank you for the excellent info. Appreciate it, much🙏

[@AshlTutl]

How is it even alive XD

[@stardanrex]

no ribs? so it can????

[@robbywoolums9071]

Shut up dude lol

[@uncledoctor6920]

"But how does it taste?"

[@oshkeet]

Bad, which probably has protected them tbh

[@brionfranks478]

Between these swimming fish heads and leafy sea dragons, I don't know which is weirder.

[@JesterOfDestiny]

How did this thing even evolve?

[@donrane]

If it works it works. Slowly from 1 generation to another.

[@puffinjuice]

Evolution also makes mistakes

[@feuerling]

​@@puffinjuice clearly it did _something_ right with those fish, or they wouldn't still be around and breeding. Remember, any extant animal, no matter how stupid it seems, somehow prevails in the giant deathmatch that is the food chain, and they've lasted this long even with humans around.

[@Pooreboy1978]

​@@puffinjuiceWhen? Show me one...not to prove you wrong. I'd just like to know😊

[@puffinjuice]

@@Pooreboy1978 evolution occurs when there are mutations. Mutations can be beneficial or detrimental to the survival of animals. Not all mutations are going to lead to death though. This is why i imagine that mistakes are all around us. Sure, as time goes on the biggest mistakes will disappear, but not all creatures have predators. Waiting for biologists to rip my argument apart 😂

[@OPEK.]

My grandfather who was an old tuna fisherman back in the 60s told my dad, who then told me about a time when he was trolling just outside our local harbor and he snagged a sunfish(mola mola). Took him 5 minutes to realize what was going on and start moving the boat towards the fish to unhook it. When he got a few feet away from it launched out of the water 6-8ft with a giant shark bite out of the underside of it. My grandpa cut his line instantly and ran back into the harbor

[@johnzumwalt8517]

How did that survive evolution

[@HunterLvyiXIII]

Love these dudes. The more i learn about them the more I love them

[@BigXam]

It’s like the West Virginia of fish

[@pauljames5826]

I resemble that remark

[@AngelaSmith_1970]

They’re adorable 🥹😇 I still feel sorry for them though

[@pieyedapple]

I don't care what anyone thinks: this is a swimming miracle! I love these fish! Proof that Nature abhors a vacuum!

[@RaccoonRecluse]

These and the pandas are two species that don't need human intervention to die off on their own.

[@oshkeet]

Plenty of animals have really short mating windows are do shitty in captivity. Pandas in the wild do just fine. Or DID just fine. Tearing up their forests dont help.

[@eanschaan9392]

Anytime I feel like life has cursed me, I think of the sunfish and think, "well, at least I'm not that."

[@laser_simon922]

They‘re also just swimming snacks. They lack nerve endings in their sking and flesh, so they don‘t care if you take a bite…

[@chance8674]

Mola is a living submarine

[@maxiking420]

I thought more of a underwater Helicopter Which could be the same thinking about it

[@C4onthefloor]

Reminds me of a turtle swimming sideways in some of these clips.

[@Crowley_Grimsbane]

They fly sideways through the water If attacked, they simply accept their fate They like to stay in the shallows but can dive unfathomably deep if they must Sunfish are fantastically unusual

[@drivestowork]

You want to really freak out... search videos of this thing being caught and cleaned... the entire fish is mostly collagen! And the tendons that reach through the body will really send you into orbit when you see them!!

[@rogercook1177able]

So, not the most efficient swimmer, but looks cool!

[@TheDramacist]

Nature: wanna see something weird?

[@colinwalker4824]

Such a doofy and ineffective animal. I love them.

[@heathertaylor8904]

I have never once thought about the mola skeleton, and now I'm obsessed. That's bananas.

[@jimmylieb5225]

related to trigger fish and puffers. neat.

[@jacksim5759]

it's like a flounder / flatfish that's flattened side to side. which you'd think gets you a normal lookinh fish but no you get this weirdo. so cool.

[@Casterborous]

I remember Joe Lycett saying on QI that it looks "unfinished"

[@jamesjohno1180]

Stingrays: bro! You evolved the wrong way you’re still not in the gang

[@That-Google-Guy]

LOOK AT THE TINY LITTLE *fins*

[@Voltaic_Fire]

Nah, they just encountered an alien mobster who cut off one of their dimensions.

[@SnackTimeWithYogurt]

I once found one of these on the beach with its dorsal fin torn off 😬

[@stoicstrawberries]

i love them :)

[@mille6001]

Average spore creation

[@blueangelsfan4072]

So is it weirdly wonderful or wonderfully weird ?

[@anub3207]

Good morning Mr. Sunfish

[@paulkerrigan9857]

I’m think it’s cute and would probably love some company. I wouldn’t be afraid to pet it.

[@LittleMew133]

"Im vertical stingray"

[@mitchellpresas]

I knew my swim instructor was wrong. I am a good swimmer.

[@elizabethllenn1067]

The Anatomy of a Regressor

[@sunandrain98]

I had no idea something like this existed till today !

[@ajbemrose8259]

OH MY GAAAAAAWD JAY! LOOK AT THAT THING, JAY!

[@andresrincon752]

I think that thing has just survived out of pity

[@mandelorean6243]

I was gifted on my one trip in Ocean away from coast, dolphin fish fishing... one of these giants came floating by... a whale would've been cool, but this was just unique

[@daviddudek372]

THE BIRD OF THE SEA!!!

[@deborahduthie4519]

Is it like a flounder or sole fish? Does it stay at the bottom looking up?

[@feuerling]

They swim in open waters or drift at the surface

[@CheekieCharlie]

Like a sideways turtle

[@TaLeng2023]

They may not look "pretty" but they do have an agreeable personality.

[@bee_0159]

This guy has gotta have some severe back pain theres no way thats ergonomic

[@au_mln]

Next gen Ubers

[@kalabadog]

Either evolution is lazy or it mastered efficiency 😂

[@OctopusOwl]

They're literally flying sideways

[@honor9lite1337]

Weirdly weird 😮😮😮

[@PrinceD-fo4pk]

Fascinating!

[@zam6877]

Flippers are actually wings? Wow

[@miraclenichols4332]

Ha!! Fascinating! 💙

[@irontemplar6222]

Looks like a creature from spore

[@The_Official_King_Clawthorne]

Looking at sunfish make me unreasonably angry and I’m not entirely sure why

[@frances-if5fp]

A video of an innocent fish doing its own thing makes you angry? Maybe you need to explore that issue..

[@nastygollum]

A dentist removed my Mola.

[@Phyx1u5]

the real mystery is how is this thing not extinct

[@notribadsvault]

It’s the fish we drew as a small child

[@kat_dna]

This is the world's stupidest fish and I love him for it

[@nellosnook4454]

1. Fascinating! 2. Never saw or heard about this fish before. 3. The vast variety of sea life is virtually unlimited!

[@elmartell5724]

Fun fact about the sun fish: it's existence is actually some of the best evidence we have that God doesn't exist.

[@eleanorel5918]

God does exist though : )

[@frances-if5fp]

In your mind...

[@seanglynn8971]

These are right up there with pandas & koalas..... not gonna really be surprised when they all go extinct.

[@SolidChristianTeachings]

I think that by the time He got to designing the ocean animals, God was just bored. 😂

[@Emerald_Raven08]

How and why did they even evolve like this?

[@valentinozangobbo]

An alien in disguise

[@user-ff9ro4ij9d]

That is a goofy guy right there

[@ecm84ee]

It's like it couldn't decide if it's a fish or a stingray

[@ericdunthorne1981]

I've seen one missing half it's body after a shark chomped it.

[@slemuhms]

this is called pez luna in spanish

[@dblockbass]

if you give evolution enough time it will come up with the wildest things, esp in the vast and varied ocean.

[@rosergio7227]

Looks very, very inefficient... But it works i guess.

[@JorisWeima]

Imagine a human was built kinda like this

[@mikea491]

Is it yummy? That's all I'm asking. About most creatures, honestly.

[@foxylovelace2679]

Thats a serving platter with fins

[@jonathansantos2271]

Tapping it might unfold more💌 Awesome intel supports.

[@robertjutton6079]

They can get to ..what..1000 lbs..largest BONY fish in the ocean..(sharks have Cartilage)

[@realbrickbread]

Interesting, they are called sun fish in English but moon fish (Mondfisch) in German.