Nature & Environment

Massive 3-ton sunfish is officially the largest bony fish ever found

By T.K. Randall
October 15, 2022

Image: The First Guinness Book of Records
Credit: Whowhooh / CC BY-SA 4.0 (adapted) You're going to need a bigger boat if you ever hope to reel in a monster larger than this - measuring 12ft high and 11ft in length, this 6,049-pound giant sunfish is an absolute whopper.

It was discovered floating in the ocean near Faial Island in the Azores back in December 2021 before being hauled back to port by local authorities so that it could be properly examined.

The resulting study, which was published last week by the Atlantic Naturalist Association, describes the immense dimensions of the specimen and officially confirms its record-breaking status.These huge creatures are named after their tendency to bask in the sunlight near the ocean's surface, possibly as a way to re-heat themselves after diving to the much cooler depths.

The species can be found across the globe, though it's unclear how many of them there are.

The previous record holder, which was found in Japan in 1996, weighed around 5,070 pounds.


Source: Live Science

Tags: Fish