A recently discovered giant fish, identified as a hoodwinker sunfish (Mola alexandri), near a Portuguese island has set a new world record for the heaviest bony fish ever recorded. Weighing approximately 6,049 pounds (2,744 kilograms), or roughly 3 tons, the colossal fish was found floating near Faial Island in the Azores archipelago. Researchers conducted an autopsy, documenting the fish’s immense size and collecting stomach contents and DNA samples for analysis. This find surpasses the previous record held by a sunfish caught in Japan in 1996, weighing around 5,070 pounds (2,300 kilograms). The hoodwinker sunfish is known not for its circular body shape, but for basking in sunlight at the ocean surface. Often mistaken for the common sunfish, Mola mola, the hoodwinker sunfish was classified as a distinct species in 2018. While they can be found globally, their exact populations remain uncertain.
