A large sunfish thought to be a rare hoodwinker sunfish has washed up on a beach in the state of Oregon in the Pacific north-western United States, the Seaside Aquarium has reported.
The specimen measuring around 2.2 metres has been identified as a Mola tecta from photographs by a New Zealand researcher who first described the species in 2017.
According to the aquarium, it washed ashore on Gearhart beach to the north of Seaside on Monday. While ocean sunfish – Mola mola – are fairly well known, the hoodwinker sunfish is much rarer.
Mola tecta is thought to live in the tropical seas of the southern hemisphere. The head and body of the fish form a flattened disc to which two large and muscular fins are attached. The skeleton can weigh up to tons.