With their enormous millwheel-like bodies, sunfish are often compared to swimming heads or gigantic pancakes. But when a whole group forms, they almost resemble a fleet of invading alien spaceships.
That’s what divemaster Hendriver Pontoh saw while scuba diving in Nusa Lembongan, Bali, Indonesia. Six ocean sunfish (Mola mola) drifted past, gently flapping their huge dorsal and anal fins.
These strange animals don’t have a tail fin in the same way most fish do. Instead, their rear ends are decked out with a thick rudder-like flap called the clavus.
“As a divemaster, this was my first time witnessing a schooling of mola mola,” says Pontoh of the footage, which he shared on Instagram.
The encounter didn’t disappoint. Seeing so many molas gliding along together in an eerie flotilla is a great illustration of just how weird these fish are.
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- In the 1950s, whaling ended around these remote Scottish islands. Decades later, up to 30 minke whales were spotted in one great gathering
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Top image: Ocean sunfish. Credit: Hendriver Pontoh, @hendryy033
