Discovery of Giant Sunfish Carcass Weighing 3 Tons... "Largest Size Among Bony Fish"

Dead body washed ashore in Azores Islands, Portugal
500kg heavier than previous largest catch
Bruises on body, likely from collision with ship... "Strict vessel traffic control needed"

A giant sunfish weighing 3 tons has appeared in the Atlantic Ocean. The photo is not related to the specific content of the article.

[Asia Economy Reporter Bang Je-il] A massive sunfish carcass weighing 3 tons was discovered in the North Atlantic. This is the largest bony fish ever found.

According to foreign media including CNN and the New York Times (NYT) on the 18th (local time), fishermen operating near Faial Island in the Azores, a Portuguese territory, discovered a dead sunfish floating on the water last December.

Researchers from the nonprofit organization Atlantic Naturalist and local authorities towed the sunfish carcass to the nearby Horta port and used a forklift to lift it onto land. The sunfish weighed 2,744 kg, with a horizontal length from snout to tail measuring 3.25 m and a vertical length of 3.59 m. Its skin thickness was also measured at 20 cm.

This far surpasses the previous record for the largest bony fish held by a 2,300 kg female sunfish found in Kamogawa, Japan, in 1996. Bony fish, which have some or all of their bones hardened, number about 29,000 species worldwide and constitute the majority of all fish species.

According to a recent study published in the Journal of Fish Biology, this sunfish is estimated to have lived for at least 20 years, but the cause of death is unclear.

However, researcher Jose Nuno Gomes-Pereira, the paper’s author, explained that bruises were found on the front part of the sunfish’s body, which may have contributed to its death. Moreover, red paint used to coat the keel, the part supporting the middle of the bottom of a boat, was found embedded in the wound. The autopsy also revealed injury marks on the giant sunfish’s head caused by a boat propeller.

The giant sunfish, like the sunfish, lacks a tail fin but has a rudder-like organ on its belly and swims using its dorsal and anal fins. Its body shape is also wider than it is long. The giant sunfish is also called the humpback sunfish due to its prominently protruding head. The recently discovered giant sunfish also measures 359 cm in width, exceeding its length of 325 cm.

Gomes-Pereira of the Atlantic Naturalist Association said, "This discovery not only helps us understand the role of species that feed on invertebrates in the ocean ecosystem but also shows that the sea here is still healthy enough to support the world’s largest animals," adding, "Conservation measures are needed to prevent marine pollution and ship collision accidents."

He continued, "It is heartbreaking to find a fish that was once the king of the open sea in such a condition," and said, "Going forward, ship traffic near the islands should be more strictly managed."

The sunfish carcass was buried in a natural park located on Faial Island in the Azores archipelago near the discovery site.

Meanwhile, the largest fish ever discovered by humans belongs to the cartilaginous fish group with soft bones, the whale shark. In 1940, a whale shark weighing 21.5 tons was found in Pakistan.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.