Illustration of ocean sunfish
ocean sunfish
noun
: a large bony fish (Mola mola of the family Molidae, order Tetraodontiformes) having high dorsal and anal fins and a body nearly oval in outline and attaining a length of 10 feet (3 meters) and a weight in excess of 2 tons (1.8 metric tons)
Examples of ocean sunfish in a Sentence
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The ocean sunfish is the world's heaviest bony fish, not including stingrays or sharks.
—
Amaris Encinas, USA Today, 5 Apr. 2025
Over the course of the five-hour flight, the team documented two endangered sperm whales, two fin whales, two True’s beaked whales, hundreds of dolphins, dozens of ocean sunfish, and several basking sharks.
—Kate Armanini, BostonGlobe.com, 8 May 2023
The book also features the voice of an ocean sunfish that was found just outside Narragansett Bay and held in a sea pen.
—Helen Scales, Discover Magazine, 19 Mar. 2019
Help monitor basking shark and ocean sunfish in New England waters by sending in your photos from the seas!
—Darlene Cavalier, Discover Magazine, 21 July 2017
There are many old fish lineages, including elasmobranchs (sharks and rays), but there are also evolutionary newcomers like the ocean sunfish (Mola mola).
—Christie Wilcox, Discover Magazine, 31 Dec. 2015
Their bodies range from eely, jawless lampreys to flattened flounders to huge, lumpish ocean sunfish.
—Bob Holmes, Discover Magazine, 21 May 2018
These sunfish are often confused with ocean sunfish, Mola mola, but their differences were recently clarified.
—CBS News, 20 Oct. 2022
According to Thys, the field of ocean sunfish research is very active, and a species called Mola tecta was named a couple of years ago.
—Noah Sheidlower, Melissa Velasquez and Justin Lear, CNN, 22 Oct. 2021
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Amaris Encinas, USA Today, 5 Apr. 2025
Over the course of the five-hour flight, the team documented two endangered sperm whales, two fin whales, two True’s beaked whales, hundreds of dolphins, dozens of ocean sunfish, and several basking sharks.
—Kate Armanini, BostonGlobe.com, 8 May 2023
The book also features the voice of an ocean sunfish that was found just outside Narragansett Bay and held in a sea pen.
—Helen Scales, Discover Magazine, 19 Mar. 2019
Help monitor basking shark and ocean sunfish in New England waters by sending in your photos from the seas!
—Darlene Cavalier, Discover Magazine, 21 July 2017
There are many old fish lineages, including elasmobranchs (sharks and rays), but there are also evolutionary newcomers like the ocean sunfish (Mola mola).
—Christie Wilcox, Discover Magazine, 31 Dec. 2015
Their bodies range from eely, jawless lampreys to flattened flounders to huge, lumpish ocean sunfish.
—Bob Holmes, Discover Magazine, 21 May 2018
These sunfish are often confused with ocean sunfish, Mola mola, but their differences were recently clarified.
—CBS News, 20 Oct. 2022
According to Thys, the field of ocean sunfish research is very active, and a species called Mola tecta was named a couple of years ago.
—Noah Sheidlower, Melissa Velasquez and Justin Lear, CNN, 22 Oct. 2021
Cite this Entry
“Ocean sunfish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ocean%20sunfish. Accessed 6 Jul. 2025.
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