Molecular and Morphological Identification of &lt;i&gt;Mola&lt;/i&gt; Sunfish Specimens (Actinopterygii: Tetraodontiformes: Molidae) from the Indian Ocean

Sawai, Etsuro; Yamanoue, Yusuke; Jawad, Laith A.; Al-Mamry, Juma M.; Sakai, Yoichi

doi:10.12782/sd.22_99

Cited by 11 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…The third clade, Mola sp. B of Yoshita et al (2009), has been equated to M. mola (Yoshita et al 2009;Matsuura 2014;Sawai et al 2018), with residual uncertainties in the nomenclature, as this species appears to include two basin-wide groups (Atlantic vs Pacific), as revealed by phylogenetic analysis (Bass et al 2005;Ahuir-Baraja et al 2017;Sawai et al 2017). Here, the nomenclature follows Sawai et al (2018) by treating Mola sp.…”

Section: Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

Giant jelly eaters on the line: Species distribution and bycatch of three dominant sunfishes in the Southwest Pacific

Nyegaard

Loneragan

Hall

et al. 2018

Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science

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The ocean sunfishes have a long and confusing taxonomic legacy, clouding the global zoogeography of each species and hindering fisheries bycatch assessments. The traditional view of Mola mola as the most common sunfish species worldwide is challenged by our findings from Australia and New Zealand, revealing that three large sunfishes, Masturus lanceolatus, Mola alexandrini and Mola tecta, dominate the tropical/subtropical, warm-temperate and coldtemperate waters here, respectively, while Mola mola-both Pacific and Atlantic clades-is relatively rare. These findings were based on phylogenetic (mtDNA D-loop) and/or morphological species identification of sunfish from longline bycatches (n = 106), natural history museum collections (n = 45) and other sources (n = 12), informed by recent advances in the taxonomy of the genus Mola. Furthermore, separation in species distributions were seen when comparing sampling latitude and sea surface temperature. The findings imply that the longline fisheries observer sunfish data from Australia and New Zealand is a mix of species, and not dominated by M. mola as previously assumed. Mean catch per unit Effort (2001-13) in 1° latitude/longitude grids off Pacific Australia and New Zealand were predominantly < 1 sunfish.1,000 hooks-1 (up to 6.5 in some areas) with no statistical significant upwards or downwards trends detected over time in four fishing ground subareas, each presumably dominated by either Masturus lanceolatus, Mola alexandrini or Mola tecta. Widespread specimen identification errors had previously obscured a more complex Molidae zoogeography in the area, highlighting that phylogenetic analyses of sunfish bycatch globally would benefit species-level conservation status evaluations. 1 Introduction The ocean sunfishes (genera Mola and Masturus, Family Molidae) are a somewhat overlooked group of large teleosts, infamous for their odd shape resembling 'swimming heads' without tails, and for including the world's heaviest bony fish (Sawai et al. 2018). They are difficult to study, but with the advances in modern technology they have experienced a surge in research in recent years, revealing they are not the peculiar, sluggish oddities of nature they have traditionally been considered (e.g. Cartamil and Lowe, 2004; Watanabe and Sato, 2008). Instead, their diet and evidently high numbers worldwide suggest they play an important ecological role as predators of gelatinous zooplankton (Breen et al. 2017; Grémillet et al., 2017; Phillips et al. 2017). Advances in telemetry, digital imagery and other technologies continue to confirm that ocean sunfish are active predators, hunting at depth in dynamic frontal systems (Nakamura et al. 2015; Thys et al. 2015; Sousa et al. 2016a, b). However much of their life history is still unknown, as is the global zoogeography of all taxa in the family. including the generic use of M. mola, are also common in longline fisheries in other parts of the world (e.g.

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Section: Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

Giant jelly eaters on the line: Species distribution and bycatch of three dominant sunfishes in the Southwest Pacific

Nyegaard

Loneragan

Hall

et al. 2018

Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science

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“… M. mola M. alexandrini PHYL : JNSW-2 in [10] (D-loop: AB439109). Also in [1] , [7] , [8] . AMS I.41536-001 , 178 cm TL, tissue & photographs, Narrabeen Beach, NSW (35.716°S 151.300°E), found alive in shallow waters in poor condition (euthanized), 11 September 2002.…”

Section: Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

“… M. mola M. tecta PHYL: NNSW-1 in [10] (D-loop: AB439108). Also in [1] , [7] , [8] . Submission to BOLD by AMS (CO1 sequence ID: AMS174-08), phylogenetic analysis in [6] .…”

Section: Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Species identification of sunfish specimens (Genera Mola and Masturus, Family Molidae) from Australian and New Zealand natural history museum collections and other local sources

Nyegaard

Sawai

2018

Data in Brief

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This data-in-brief comprises a summary of sunfish specimens (Genera Mola and Masturus, Family Molidae, >29 cm total length) from natural history museum collections and other sources, such as strandings, in Australia and New Zealand. Each specimen was evaluated morphologically and identified to lowest possible taxon based on recent advances in the understanding of the Mola taxonomy. References to phylogenetic analyses, where applicable, are included. The summary was collated in support of publication Giant jelly eaters on the line: species distribution and bycatch of three dominant sunfishes in the Southwest Pacific[1].

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“…Mola ramsayi and M. mola almost similar morphological character, described by Fraser-Brunner [1]. They share several unique anatomical features, of which the most striking is the lack of almost all osteological elements of the caudal fin structures, which are replaced by a pseudocaudal fin [4] [10]. M. mola have rougher skin and reduced band of denticles running between their dorsal and anal fins along the pseudotail known as a clavus.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

First Molecular Identification of Sunfish in North Bali Water

Riawan¹,

Setiabudi²,

Merdana³

et al. 2019

atbes

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Stranded Sunfish in North Bali with full body we collect to do molecular identification. Samples were amplified at the d-loop locus (control region) using the PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) method. Primers used in PCR are H16498 as primary front (forward) and L15812 as reverse primer. Similarity value of 95% after alignment with Mola ramsayi (accession number accession AY940824) on GenBank, and the gaps of the nucleotide just 1%. The stranded sunfish identified using partial sequence mtDNA is the same species as the species Mola ramsayi.

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Molecular and Morphological Identification of <i>Mola</i> Sunfish Specimens (Actinopterygii: Tetraodontiformes: Molidae) from the Indian Ocean

Cited by 11 publications

References 14 publications

Giant jelly eaters on the line: Species distribution and bycatch of three dominant sunfishes in the Southwest Pacific

Giant jelly eaters on the line: Species distribution and bycatch of three dominant sunfishes in the Southwest Pacific

Species identification of sunfish specimens (Genera Mola and Masturus, Family Molidae) from Australian and New Zealand natural history museum collections and other local sources

First Molecular Identification of Sunfish in North Bali Water

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