Ocean sunfish
Mola mola
Not Kosher
No true scales
Scales
No
Description
The ocean sunfish, also known as the common mola, is one of the largest bony fish in the world. It is the type species of the genus Mola, and one of five extant species in the family Molidae.
Ocean sunfish is a delicacy in some regions, with Taiwan and Japan the biggest markets, and nearly every part is used. Selling sunfish products is banned in the European Union.
The ocean sunfish lives in temperate and tropical waters of every ocean, usually where it's warmer than 10 degrees Celsius. It spends much of its life hunting below 200 meters.
Also known as
- Mola
- Common mola
Ocean sunfish in foreign languages
| Scientific | Mola mola |
| Hebrew | דג שמש מגובשש |
| Arabic | سمكة شمس المحيط |
| Spanish | Mola |
| Portuguese | Peixe-lua |
| French | Môle |
| German | Mondfisch |
| Greek | Φεγγαρόψαρο |
| Russian | Обыкновенная луна-рыба |
| Turkish | Güneş balığı |
| Chinese | 翻車魨 |
| Japanese | マンボウ |
| Korean | 개복치 |
| Hindi | महासागरीय सूर्यमछली |
| Bengali | মহাসাগরীয় গোলদেহী সূর্যমাছ |
| Vietnamese | Cá thái dương |
| Thai | ปลาแสงอาทิตย์ |
| Indonesian | Molamola |
Gallery
Warnings & Kosher Issues
- Not kosher. The ocean sunfish (Mola mola) has rough, scaleless skin.
- It has denticles and a coat of mucus instead of true scales, plus a largely cartilage skeleton, so it is not kosher.
- The EU bans sunfish products because they can contain toxins, and the internal organs may hold tetrodotoxin. More than 40 parasite species can live on and in it.