3D model of a Sunfish (NHMW-ZOO-FS-95124)

3D scan of the sunfish Mola mola. Sunfish (Molidae) stand out due to their unique appearance. They can grow up to 3 meters in height, but become hardly ever longer than high and are disc shaped. Until now, not much is known about these unique fishes. What is known is, that they live in tropical and temperate oceans and that M. mola produce more eggs than any other known vertebrate: up to 300,000,000 at a time. Mola mola belongs to the order Tetraodontiformes and contains - like the famous fugu - lethal amounts of the poison Tetrodotoxin, especially in the liver, ovaries, eyes and skin. This sunfish has two different eyes. During the restoration process the old eye (black, visible on the right side in this view), was not removed. It is a historic piece of work and the preparation team wanted to keep it in its original state. The new glass eye (on the left side in this view) is maroon coloured with a black pupil.