Higher Classification: > Kingdom Animalia > Subkingdom Eumetazoa > Phylum Chordata > Subphylum Vertebrata > Infraphylum Gnathostomata > Parvphylum Osteichthyes > Gigaclass Actinopterygii > Subclass Neopterygii > Class Teleostei > Order Tetraodontiformes > Family Molidae > Genus Mola

Mola mola (Linnaeus, 1758)

Rank: Species
Taxon Status: accepted

Relationships towards this taxon

Genus group names

*Mola*	Koelreuter, 1766	accepted genus name
*Orthagoriscus*	Cuvier, 1816	synonym
*Orthragoriscus*	Bloch & Schneider, 1801	synonym

Species group names

*Orthagoriscus mola*		orthographic variant
*Orthragoriscus mola*	(Linnaeus, 1758)	synonym
*Tetraodon mola*	Linnaeus, 1758	synonym

Vernaculars (+) (-)

Albanian: hana; peshkahana; peshku hënë sources: Dhora, DH. 2008. Fjalor i emrave të kafshëve të Shqipërisë (Emri shkencor – Shqip – Anglisht) / Dictionary of animal names of Albania (Scientific names – Albanian – English). Camaj – Pipa. Shkodër, Albania. pp. 288.

Danish: klumpfisk sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Dutch: maanvis sources: Nijssen, H.; de Groot, S.J. (1987). De vissen van Nederland: systematische indeling, historisch overzicht, het ontstaan van de viskweek, uitheemse vissoorten, determineersleutels, beschrijvingen, afbeeldingen, literatuur, van alle in Nederlandse wateren voor komende zee- en zoetwatervissoorten [Fishes of the Netherlands: systematic classification, historical overview, origins of fish culture, non-indigenous species, determination keys, descriptions, drawings, literature references on all marine and freshwater fish species living in Dutch waters]. KNNV Uitgeverij: Utrecht, The Netherlands. ISBN 90-5011-006-1. 224 pp.

English: Common sunfish; Giant sunfish; ocean sunfish; sunfish; sun-fish sources: Volvenko, I. V.; Orlov, A. M.; Gebruk, A. V.; Katugin, O. N.; Ogorodnikova, A. A.; Vinogradov, G. M.; Maznikova, O. A. (2019). Checklist of the trawl macrofauna from the North Pacific and adjacent seas with information about fishery importance, potential product yield, and price range, supplement to: Volvenko, Igor V; Orlov, Alexei M; Gebruk, Andrey V; Katugin, Oleg N; Ogorodnikova, Alla A; Vinogradov, Georgy M; Maznikova, Olga A (in prep.): Trawl macrofauna of the Far-Eastern Seas and North Pacific: proportion of commercial species, potential product yield, and price rang. Earth System Science Data. PANGAEA - Data Publisher for Earth & Environmental Science.;North-West Atlantic Ocean species (NWARMS);Froese, R. & D. Pauly (Editors). (2025). FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. version (06/2024).;Nijssen, H.; de Groot, S.J. (1987). De vissen van Nederland: systematische indeling, historisch overzicht, het ontstaan van de viskweek, uitheemse vissoorten, determineersleutels, beschrijvingen, afbeeldingen, literatuur, van alle in Nederlandse wateren voor komende zee- en zoetwatervissoorten [Fishes of the Netherlands: systematic classification, historical overview, origins of fish culture, non-indigenous species, determination keys, descriptions, drawings, literature references on all marine and freshwater fish species living in Dutch waters]. KNNV Uitgeverij: Utrecht, The Netherlands. ISBN 90-5011-006-1. 224 pp.

French: mole; môle; mole commun; poisson-lune sources: Nijssen, H.; de Groot, S.J. (1987). De vissen van Nederland: systematische indeling, historisch overzicht, het ontstaan van de viskweek, uitheemse vissoorten, determineersleutels, beschrijvingen, afbeeldingen, literatuur, van alle in Nederlandse wateren voor komende zee- en zoetwatervissoorten [Fishes of the Netherlands: systematic classification, historical overview, origins of fish culture, non-indigenous species, determination keys, descriptions, drawings, literature references on all marine and freshwater fish species living in Dutch waters]. KNNV Uitgeverij: Utrecht, The Netherlands. ISBN 90-5011-006-1. 224 pp.;Nelson, J.S.; Crossman, E.J.; Espinosa-Pérez, H.; Findley, L.T.; Gilbert, C.R.; Lea, R.N.; Williams, J.D. (2004). Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada and Mexico Special Publication. American Fisheries Society, 29 American Fisheries Society: Bethesda. ISBN 1-888569-61-1. 386 + CD-Rom pp.;Gillespie, G. E. (1993). An updated list of the fishes of British Columbia, and those of interest in adjacent waters, with numeric code designations. Can. Tech. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 1918: 116 p.

German: Mondfisch sources: Nijssen, H.; de Groot, S.J. (1987). De vissen van Nederland: systematische indeling, historisch overzicht, het ontstaan van de viskweek, uitheemse vissoorten, determineersleutels, beschrijvingen, afbeeldingen, literatuur, van alle in Nederlandse wateren voor komende zee- en zoetwatervissoorten [Fishes of the Netherlands: systematic classification, historical overview, origins of fish culture, non-indigenous species, determination keys, descriptions, drawings, literature references on all marine and freshwater fish species living in Dutch waters]. KNNV Uitgeverij: Utrecht, The Netherlands. ISBN 90-5011-006-1. 224 pp.

Greek: Φεγγαρόψαρο sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Hebrew: דג שמש ענק sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Japanese: マンボウ sources: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology. (2009 onwards). Biological Information System for Marine Life (BISMaL). Accessed on 2018-11-21.

Norwegian Bokmål: månefisk sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Norwegian Nynorsk: månefisk sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Russian: Обыкновенная луна-рыба; рыба-голова; рыба-солнце sources: Volvenko, I. V.; Orlov, A. M.; Gebruk, A. V.; Katugin, O. N.; Ogorodnikova, A. A.; Vinogradov, G. M.; Maznikova, O. A. (2019). Checklist of the trawl macrofauna from the North Pacific and adjacent seas with information about fishery importance, potential product yield, and price range, supplement to: Volvenko, Igor V; Orlov, Alexei M; Gebruk, Andrey V; Katugin, Oleg N; Ogorodnikova, Alla A; Vinogradov, Georgy M; Maznikova, Olga A (in prep.): Trawl macrofauna of the Far-Eastern Seas and North Pacific: proportion of commercial species, potential product yield, and price rang. Earth System Science Data. PANGAEA - Data Publisher for Earth & Environmental Science.

Spanish, Castillian: mola sources: Nelson, J.S.; Crossman, E.J.; Espinosa-Pérez, H.; Findley, L.T.; Gilbert, C.R.; Lea, R.N.; Williams, J.D. (2004). Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada and Mexico Special Publication. American Fisheries Society, 29 American Fisheries Society: Bethesda. ISBN 1-888569-61-1. 386 + CD-Rom pp.

Swedish: klumpfisk sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Turkish: ayi baligi; pervane baligi sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Welsh: pysgodyn haul

Literature

basis of record	van der Land, J.; Costello, M.J.; Zavodnik, D.; Santos, R.S.; Porteiro, F.M.; Bailly, N.; Eschmeyer, W.N.; Froese, R. (2001). Pisces, in: Costello, M.J. et al. (Ed.) (2001). European register of marine species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification. Collection Patrimoines Naturels, 50: pp. 357-374
additional source	Fricke, R., Eschmeyer, W. N. & Van der Laan, R. (eds). (2025). ECoF. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: Genera, Species, References. California Academy of Sciences. San Francisco. Electronic version accessed dd mmm 2025.
additional source	Muller, Y. (2004). Faune et flore du littoral du Nord, du Pas-de-Calais et de la Belgique: inventaire. [Coastal fauna and flora of the Nord, Pas-de-Calais and Belgium: inventory]. Commission Régionale de Biologie Région Nord Pas-de-Calais: France. 307 pp.
additional source	King, C.M.; Roberts, C.D.; Bell, B.D.; Fordyce, R.E.; Nicoll, R.S.; Worthy, T.H.; Paulin, C.D.; Hitchmough, R.A.; Keyes, I.W.; Baker, A.N.; Stewart, A.L.; Hiller, N.; McDowall, R.M.; Holdaway, R.N.; McPhee, R.P.; Schwarzhans, W.W.; Tennyson, A.J.D.; Rust, S.; Macadie, I. (2009). Phylum Chordata: lancelets, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals. in: Gordon, D.P. (Ed.) (2009). New Zealand inventory of biodiversity: 1. Kingdom Animalia: Radiata, Lophotrochozoa, Deuterostomia. pp. 431-554.
additional source	Robins, C. R.; Ray, G. C.; Douglass, J.; Freund, R. (1986). A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Co. Boston. 1-354.
additional source	Liu, J.Y. [Ruiyu] (ed.). (2008). Checklist of marine biota of China seas. China Science Press. 1267 pp.
additional source	Froese, R. & D. Pauly (Editors). (2025). FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. version (06/2024).
additional source	McEachran, J. D. (2009). Fishes (Vertebrata: Pisces) of the Gulf of Mexico, Pp. 1223–1316 in: Felder, D.L. and D.K. Camp (eds.), Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Biodiversity. Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas.
additional source	Linnaeus, C. (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. [The system of nature through the three kingdoms of nature, according to classes, orders, genera, species, with characters, differences, synonyms, places.]. Impensis Direct. Laurentii Salvii. Holmiae [Stockholm]. 1(10) [iii], 824 p.
ecology source	Looby, A.; Erbe, C.; Bravo, S.; Cox, K.; Davies, H. L.; Di Iorio, L.; Jézéquel, Y.; Juanes, F.; Martin, C. W.; Mooney, T. A.; Radford, C.; Reynolds, L. K.; Rice, A. N.; Riera, A.; Rountree, R.; Spriel, B.; Stanley, J.; Vela, S.; Parsons, M. J. G. (2023). Global inventory of species categorized by known underwater sonifery. Scientific Data. 10(1).

Genbank

External Links

FishBase
FishBase images (Mola mola, Indonesia, by Zuberbuhler, T.)
Marine Life Information Network - UK

Citation

Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. (2025). FishBase. Mola mola (Linnaeus, 1758). Via: Costello, M.J.; Bouchet, P.; Boxshall, G.; Arvantidis, C.; Appeltans, W. (2011) European Register of Marine Species, Accessed through PESI at http://www.eu-nomen.eu/portal/taxon.php?GUID=urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:127405