California: Sebuah ikan besar langka yang diyakini hidup di belahan bumi selatan ditemukan

terdampar di pantai Santa Barbara, California, Amerika Serikat. Ikan matahari jenis hoodwinker
sunfish ini membuat ilmuwan kebingungan, mengenai mengapa bisa terdampar begitu jauh dari
perairan asalnya. Seorang pegawai magang dari Universitas California menemukan bangkai ikan
sepanjang 2,1 meter itu di dekat Coal Oil Point Natural Reserve. Para ilmuan membutuhkan waktu
beberapa hari untuk mengidentifikasi ikan tersebut, yang baru teridentifikasi pada 2014.
Serangkaian foto ikan matahari raksasa itu diunggah ke akun Facebook milik Coal Oil Point.
Sejumlah pakar dari seluruh dunia mencoba membantu mengidentifikasi makhluk bernama ilmiah
Mola mola tersebut via Facebook. Ikan matahari tersebut dinamakan "hoodwinker" karena telah
berhasil lolos dari pengamatan para peneliti selama bertahun-tahun. "Hoodwinker" diambil dari
istilah "Hoodwink" yang berarti tipu daya. Marianne Nyegaard, seorang pakar kelautan yang
menamakan ikan tersebut, mengatakan kepada kantor berita CNN bahwa dirinya "hampir terjatuh
dari kursi" saat melihat serangkaian foto hoodwinker sunfish. "Saat sejumlah foto itu muncul, saya
merasa sudah tidak meragukannya lagi. Sangat menarik mengenai bagaimana ikan ini berenang
melewati ekuator," lanjut dia, seperti dilansir dari laman BBC, Sabtu 2 Maret 2019. Hoodwinker
adalah jenis ikan matahari yang lebih ramping dan besar dari sejenisnya. Seekor hoodwinker
sunfish dapat memiliki bobot hingga dua ton.

Ikan mola-mola jenis hoodwinker sunfish di California. (Foto: Coal Oil Point Reserve).

Karakteristik ikan hoodwinker berbeda dari sejenisnya, yakni lebih menyukai perairan hangat,
seperti lepas pantai Chile atau Selandia Baru. September tahun lalu, seekor jenis berbeda dari ikan
matahari muncul dua kali di lepas pantai Skotlandia dalam kurun waktu sepekan. Pada 2015, Tim
penyelam terkejut saat berhadapan dengan seekor ikan matahari berukuran raksasa di perairan
Portugal. Dengan panjang tubuh antar 4 hingga 4,5 meter dan bobot lebih dari 2000 kilogram, ikan
matahari itu terlihat seperti makhluk dari planet lain. Sunfish, ikan yang mulutnya selalu terbuka,
adalah salah satu makanan di Jepang. Ikan matahari bukan ikan terbesar dan terberat di lautan.
Raja lautan yang sebenarnya adalah whale shark atau hiu paus.
https://m.medcom.id/internasional/dunia-unik/Rb13PD1K-ikan-besar-langka-terdampar-jauh-
dari-perairan-asalnya.

Tropical Fish Species Never Recorded In Northern Hemisphere Washes Up

On California Coast

When a rare, giant tropical sunfish found only south of the equator washed up on southern
California’s temperate coast, researchers were stumped. The hoodwinker sunfish (Mola tecta) was
only first described by sunfish expert Marianne Nyegaard in 2017 in the Zoological Journal of the
Linnean Society, making it the first addition to the Mola genus in 125 years. Until last month, it
had never been observed outside of the Southern Hemisphere. “I literally, nearly fell off my chair
(which I was already sitting on the edge of!),” said Nyegaard in a statement. Measuring 2 meters
(7 feet) long and weighing up to 2 tons, the hoodwinker was at first mistaken as a Mola mola
sunfish, which is known for frequenting the Santa Barbara Channel. After hearing of the washed-
up fish, conservation specialist Jessica Nielsen took photos and preliminary measurements of the
specimen and posted them on a Facebook page. Thomas Turner, an associate professor of ecology,
evolution, and marine biology, saw the photos and took his family to the beach. He then posted
additional images to iNaturalist, an online community for citizen scientists.
That’s when fish scientists from down under caught wind of the Mola mystery. Nyegaard teamed
up with ichthyologist Ralph Foster. Together, the duo initially thought the fish could be a
hoodwinker but were reluctant to identify it as such because the photos were too pixelated to be
sure. Additionally, the images posted didn’t show the clavus – a hoodwinker's defining
characteristic. Not to mention, the fish was far out of its usual range. From across different corners
of the world, the four scientists were able to solve the fishy conundrum. The California scientists
took measurements, more detailed photos, and tissue samples for DNA analysis in order to confirm
that the fish was, in fact, a hoodwinker.“This is certainly the most remarkable organism I have
seen wash up on the beach in my four years at the reserve,” said Nielsen. “It really was exciting to
collect the photos and samples knowing that it could potentially be such an extraordinary
sighting.“Mola tecta was just recently discovered so there is still so much to learn about this
species. I’m so glad that we could help these researchers make the final definitive ID."It’s unclear
how the hoodwinker wound up so far out of its southern range, but the team of scientists say that
identification is the first step in learning more about this elusive species.

https://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/tropical-fish-species-never-recorded-in-northern-
hemisphere-washes-up-on-california-coast/.