Slender sunfish

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iSlender sunfish
Drawing by Dr Tony Ayling
Drawing by Dr Tony Ayling
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Tetraodontiformes
Family: Molidae
Genus: Ranzania
Nardo, 1840
Species: R. laevis
Binomial name
Ranzania laevis
(Pennant, 1776)

The slender sunfish, Ranzania laevis, is a mola or ocean sunfish of the family Molidae, the only member of the genus Ranzania, found globally in tropical and temperate seas. Its length is up to 1 m.

The slender sunfish is a smaller, more elongate version of the ocean sunfish but is otherwise very similar in appearance and habits. It is not very common.

Body colour is silver with dark dorsal and anal fins and a pattern of dark lines on the head and flanks.

[edit] References

  • "Ranzania laevis". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. March 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.
  • Tony Ayling & Geoffrey Cox, Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand, (William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1982) ISBN 0-00-216987-8
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