‘Seamonster’ weighing 6,000 pounds breaks world record, researchers in Portugal say
.png "A giant sunfish found off the Azores islands, Portugal, set a world record as the largest bony fish, weighing 6,000 pounds, researchers say.")
Researchers in Portugal announced a record-setting find: a giant sunfish weighing over 6,000 pounds.
The giant sunfish carcass was found floating off the coast of Faial Island in December 2021, but researchers just confirmed the enormity of the find, the Atlantic Naturalist Association said in an Oct. 13 news release.
The “majestic” giant sunfish weighed 6,049 pounds and measured 11 feet, 9 inches tall and 10 feet, 7 inches long, researchers wrote in a study accepted by the Journal of Fish Biology. Video from the Atlantic Naturalist Association showed the “seamonster” being weighed with a forklift.
The giant sunfish set a world record as the heaviest bony fish — weighing 978 pounds more than the previous record-holder, the study says.
Researchers found a bruise on the giant sunfish’s head along with paint commonly used on the keel of boats. However, they could not determine if this impact happened before or after the animal died.
After researchers finished studying the specimen, the giant sunfish was buried in a natural park, one researcher told CNN.
Giant sunfish, or mola alexandrini, weren’t recognized as their own species until 2018, researchers said.
Faial Island is in the Azores, a collection of Portuguese islands about 950 miles west of the mainland.
This story was originally published October 19, 2022 at 12:48 PM with the headline "‘Seamonster’ weighing 6,000 pounds breaks world record, researchers in Portugal say."
