Monday, March 30, 2015

Creature Feature #527: Ocean Sunfish

From one ocean giant to another, meet the Ocean Sunfish. This collossus of the piscian world weighs in at around 1,000 kg - the heaviest bony fish in the world. He is dorsally flattened, and sustains his bulk on a diet of jellyfish, with the occasional cephalopod, crustacean or small fish. His thick skin and massive size make him undesirable as prey, but bluefin tuna, shark and orca will occasionally eat juveniles. Sea lions have been known to "play" with them, ripping off the fins and leaving the handicapped fish to die. Female Sunfish produce more fry - around 300 million at a time - than any other vertebrate.

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