Species: Ranzania laevis, Slender sunfish, Slender mola

Ranzania laevis (Pennant, 1776)

Slender Mola, Slender Sunfish

Body an elongate oval (depth 25-48% of SL), strongly compressed; mouth small, funnel like, a vertical slit when closed, opens at the front, is a beak (without a central suture) composed of teeth fused to the jaws; gill openings small, on side just before pectorals; gill rakers not covered with skin; pectorals long, pointed; no pelvics; dorsal fin 17-19 rays; anal fin 18-19 rays; pectoral fin 13 rays; no tail base; dorsal and anal fins long and high, symmetrical, used for locomotion, at rear of body, their rear rays joined to tail fin immediately behind them that is reduced to a vertically elongate, short, blunt rudder, with oblique profile, no rear pointed extension; skin smooth, covered with small, hard, hexagonal plates.

Dark grey to dark blue above, silvery on sides and belly; head and lower belly with thin undulating black-edged white bars; white spots and vertical streaks on body between dorsal and anal fins.

Size: 200 cm.

Habitat: oceanic.

Depth: 0-140 m.

Circumtropical; possibly throughout our region except most of the Gulf of California.