Sunfish Gallery

Ocean sunfish, Mola mola

Ocean sunfish, Mola mola. . Handcolored copperplate stipple engraving from Jussieu's Dictionnaire des Sciences Naturelles 1816-1830. Illustration by J.G. Pretre, engraved by Massard, directed by Turpin, and published by F. G. Levrault. Jean Gabriel Pretre (1780-1845) was painter of natural history at Empress Josephine's zoo and later became artist to the Museum of Natural History

© Florilegius / Mary Evans

Spotted eagle ray (Aetobatus narinari)

Spotted eagle ray (Aetobatus narinari), normally shy but will occasionally approach divers out of curiosity. Possesses short stinging spine at base of long whip-like tail which can reach three times the disc width. Has plate-like teeth that crush shellfish, clams, oysters, whelks and other large molluscs. Can leap well clear of the water; a powerful fighter when caught on a line. Northern New South Wales, Australia

© Mark Spencer/AUSCAPE All rights reserved

Shadow bass perched on a rock ledge below the Vortex Spring cave

Shadow bass (Ambloplites ariommus) perched on a rock ledge about 90 feet deep just below the Vortex Spring cave ceiling where air bubbles have surfaced. Shadow Bass is a member of the Centrarchids family or sunfish family and is closely related to the rock bass

© Michael Wood/Stocktrek Images

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