First record of a stranded specimen of the sharptail mola, Masturus lanceolatus (Actinopterygii: Tetraodontiformes: Molidae), from the central coast of Peru

Abstract

The Molidae are a widely distributed family, but they are rarely encountered and their distribution and abundance have poorly been documented. A stranded specimen of the sharptail mola, Masturus lanceolatus (Liénard, 1840), has recently been recorded on a Pacific beach in Peru. We examined, measured and photographed the specimen. It is very likely that the presently reported sharptail mola was originally captured by a Peruvian purse seiner or longliner and later discarded as a useless bycatch.

Keywords

• Peru
• new record
• sunfish
• morphology
• marine biod