Courtesy of Daniel Botelho
When photojournalist Daniel Botelho embarked on a mission to photograph blue whales, he never expected to see a Mola mola, also known as a sunfish. His sunfish photos were misplaced two years ago and only in a recent discovery did Botelho remember them. He ended up posting his photographs online and in a few days his pictures went viral.
Even though these creatures seem calm and bulky, they are actually quite agile and quick. They do not like it when divers approach them, so Botelho was lucky to even acquire photographs of the sunfish. He said that there were more sunfishes but all of them except for one ran away from him. Strangely enough, the one sunfish he photographed fearlessly followed him around.
Here are some facts about the Mola mola:
-It is the world’s heaviest bony fish.
-It can measure up to 14 feet and weigh up to 5000 pounds.
-They live in tropical and temperate oceans.
-They feed on jellies, squid and small fishes.
-They are silver-coloured with a bumpy skin texture.
-They can’t fully close their mouths because their teeth are merged into a beak-shaped structure.
In the photo above, the composition of the picture really emphasizes the comparison between the sunfish and the diver. It is truly amazing to see the wonders that are lurking down beneath the ocean waters.