Ocean sunfish

"I caught an ocean sunfish! Good thing I'm wearing ocean sunscreen!" —New Horizons

Ocean Sunfish
Image gallery
Real-world info
Name: Mola mola (common ocean sunfish) Family: Molidae (ocean sunfishes)
Main appearances
DnM DnM+ AC DnMe+ iQue WW CF NL NH
Other appearances
Film HHD aF PC
Names in other languages  マンボウ  개복치  Pesce luna  Mondfisch  翻车鱼  Lune de mer  Pez luna  Klompvis  翻车鱼  Lune de mer  Pez luna  Луна-рыба

The Ocean Sunfish (マンボウ, Manbō) is a fish that appears during the summer months, from 4AM to 9PM. It is the least valuable member of the shark family. Its shadow, like all other members of the shark family, is either large or huge and has a fin protruding from the sea. It can be sold for 4,000 Bells.

Catch details

In Wild World

#53

"I caught an ocean sunfish! Don't look directly at it!♪"

Description	A relative of the blowfish, they have caudal fins at birth, but as they grow the fins vanish.
Time of year	Unknown
Time of day	Unknown
Peak times
Location	[[Sea]]
Shadow size	Huge (with fin)
Fish size	300 cm
Selling price	4,000 Bells
Furniture size

In City Folk

#61

Ocean sunfish
"I caught an ocean sunfish! I'm feeling pretty sunny now!♪"

Description	Comical and cute at the same time, these are poor swimmers and eaters.
Time of year	Unknown
Time of day	Unknown
Peak times
Location	[[Sea]]
Shadow size	Large
Fish size	About 120 inches (300 cm)
Selling price	4,000 Bells
Furniture size

In New Leaf

#66

"I caught an ocean sunfish! My day is brighter already!"

Time of year	Unknown
Time of day	Jun - Sep: 4 AM - 9 PM
Peak times
Location	[[Sea (including Tortimer Island)]]
Shadow size	Huge (with fin)
Fish size	300cm
Selling price	4,000 Bells
Furniture size

In Pocket Camp

#38

Event availability	Ocean Sunfish Goals
Location	Saltwater Shores
Shadow size	Huge With Fin
Fish size	252.2 cm - 349.0 cm
Rarity	★★★
Catch rate	3.4692%
Selling price	4,000 Bells
Request reward	1,500 Bells, 3 Friendship Points Fortune Cookie (20%), Bronze Treats (30%)

In New Horizons

#70

"I caught an ocean sunfish! Good thing I'm wearing ocean sunscreen!"

Time of year	North: Jul – Sep South: Jan – Mar
Time of day	4 AM – 9 PM
Location	[[Sea]]
Shadow size	Large w/Fin
Spawn requirement	Unknown
Selling prices	Nook's Cranny:  4,000 Bells  C.J.:  6,000 Bells
Furniture size

Donating to the museum

Upon donation to the museum, Blathers will say the following:

In Wild World

"I understand that ocean sunfish are edible, but... I've also heard that unless it's incredibly fresh, it tastes rather foul. As such, it's usually only eaten where it's caught!"

The ocean sunfish will be found in the second room in the sea tank.

In City Folk

"...The ocean sunfish, it turns out, is related to the blowfish! Shocking, no? Absolutely mind-boggly! The resemblance is quite strong in its little mouth and round body... Seems rather blowfishy to me! ...There's something almost therapeutic about watching its slow, dull movements and vacant expression."

It can be found in the tank at the back of the aquarium, with other sea fish.

In New Leaf

An information board in the aquarium displays a description of the ocean sunfish:

"Ocean Sunfish are a relative of blowfish that can reach up to two tons in weight. Lacking a tail fin, they cannot swim particularly quickly, which is an odd bit of anatomical detriment. The number of eggs they can lay is the most in the world at over 300 million. However, out of that 300 million, only one or two fish will ultimately survive. Ocean sunfish sometimes like to bob up and down on the surface of the ocean. This gives them the appearance they're sunbathing, which helps to make them a popular breed of fish."

Gallery

For more images, view this subject's gallery.

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  Animal Crossing: Wild World

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  Animal Crossing: City Folk

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  Animal Crossing: New Leaf

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  Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer

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  Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

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  Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Further information

File:Realmolamola.jpg

A real Ocean Sunfish

The ocean sunfish, Mola mola, is a tropical saltwater fish related to the Puffer Fish. It is the largest known bony fish, at up to 3.3 meters long and 4.2 meters tall, and weighing over 2 metric ton. They are pelagic, or open-ocean, fish, often reaching depths of 600 m. When resting the ocean sunfish will lay down on its side just below the ocean's surface in the sun, which is where it gets its name in many languages, including English, as well as its scientific name (Mola being Latin for "millstone"). This behavior is believed to warm them up, as prolonged exposure to waters below 12 °C (54 °F) can disorientate or even kill them.

Despite being classified as a bony fish due to its taxonomy, the ocean sunfish has a skeleton largely comprised of cartilage, due to the sizes it reaches. Its teeth are fused into a beak-like mouth, although like some other toothless bony fish like carps and suckers, it has pharyngeal teeth, or teeth in its throat. It has the fewest number of bones in its vertebrae of any fish, at just 16, and lacks a true tail and swim bladder.

Traditionally believed to feed primarily on jellyfish, they are now known to be generalist predators, also eating fish larvae, squid, crustaceans, and even eelgrass. Ocean sunfish are often victims of skin parasites, and they will invite small fish and even birds to clean their skin.

Names in other languages

{{Foreignname

	マンボウ manbō	Ocean sunfish, often translated as "circle fish" (actual etymology unclear)
	개복치 gaebokji	Ocean sunfish
	翻车鱼 fānchēyú	Ocean sunfish, lit. "overturned car/wheel fish" after its basking behavior
	翻車魚 Unknown
	Луна-рыба Luna-ryba	Lit "moon fish"
	Klompvis	Lit. "clogs fish"
	Mondfisch	Lit. "moon fish"
	Pez luna	Lit. "moon fish"
	Lune de mer	Sea moon
	Poisson-lune	Lit. "moon fish"
	Pesce luna	Lit. "moon fish"