Where are the Mola in Lembongan?
After some promising larger pelagic sightings over the last few weeks, a Humpback Whale and Thresher Sharks, we found ourselves wondering when the regular crowd pullers would be returning.
Well, they are a little late this year but Mola Mola are back around the islands! If you don’t know why we are so excited then check out the picture of our lovely PADI Instructor “P” photo-bombing a fine specimen.
A (or sunfish or Mola Mola) is any fish in the Mola genus (family Molidae). The fishes develop their truncated, bullet-like shape because the back fin, with which they are born, never grows. Instead, it folds into itself as the creature matures, creating a rounded rudder called a clavus. Mola in Latin means “millstone” and describes the ocean sunfish’s somewhat circular shape. They are a silvery color and have a rough skin texture.
Mola can become so infested with skin parasites, they will often invite small fish or even birds to feast on them. Mola will even breach the surface up to 3.0 m in the air, in an attempt to shake the parasites.
Come visit and see if you can catch a glimpse of this majestically weird fish.
