World’s Heaviest Bony Fish Found; weighs around 2,744 Kilos

The heaviest bony fish in the World, a giant sunfish found dead and floating in the Azores in the Atlantic Ocean in late 2021. The scale-tipping sunfish (Mola alexandrini) clocked in at 6,050 pounds (2,744 kilograms).

Previously, a sunfish weighing 5,070 pounds (2,300 kilograms) was captured in Japan in 1996.

Marine scientist Jose Nuno Gomes- Pereira with ocean conservation and research nonprofit Atlantic Naturalist led the study, which was published in the Journal of Fish Biology. Atlantic Naturalist shared a video of the fish found showing the sunfish being examined and lifted with heavy equipment for measuring the weight.

An investigation of the fish carcass found a large contusion on its head likely caused by a boat, but the scientists weren’t able to determine if the impact happen before or after the fish died.

Atlantic Naturalist said that giant sunfish’s existence shows the ocean is still healthy enough to support the world’s largest animals but also called out the ocean pollution and boat traffic as a concern for the animals.