Saw this weird fish??

[maxg]

Whilst out riding the waves last week came across the Sunfish doing the strangest thing.

Any one got any ideas to why.

It didn't seem particularly bothered but us floating around it.

Sunfish Sun Bathing - YouTube

[kerny]

Looks like its doing a bit of sunbathing and just generally chillin out

[willk]

"Sunfish are most often found in water warmer than 10 °C (50 °F);[24] prolonged periods spent in water at temperatures of 12 °C (54 °F) or lower can lead to disorientation and eventual death.[20] Researchers theorize that surface basking behaviour, in which a sunfish swims on its side, presenting its largest profile to the sun, may be a method of "thermally recharging" following dives into deeper, colder water.[22][25] Others point to sightings of the fish in colder waters outside of its usual habitat, such as those southwest of England, as evidence of increasing marine temperatures.[26][27]"

ee wuz fkkn fffreezin

[maxg]

ee wuz fkkn fffreezin [/QUOTE]

yer so were we


Thanks for the info.

[jyasaki]

As an aside, Monterey Bay (California) gets an influx of these guys every summer. When they're in, you can find sea lions all over the bay tossing them around like frisbees as they tear off chunks of mola flesh. Divers will find Mola's with fins removed lying all over the bottom of the bay (often still alive, but unable to swim.) Theory is that the sea lions remove the fins, allow sea stars to eat the skin, then recover the carcasses and eat the meat.

jky

[steco1958]

I see these down in spain when ribbing and diving, when they are on the surface, I have seen gulls pecking parasites off the fish, possible symbiotic relationship.

But I am probably talking $h1T

[maxg]

Originally Posted by steco1958

I see these down in spain when ribbing and diving, when they are on the surface, I have seen gulls pecking parasites off the fish, possible symbiotic relationship.

But I am probably talking $h1T

funnily enough there was a sea gull quite close to it that I spotted and thought it was a large plastic bag so went over to fish it out, only to find fishy

[treerat]

We get quite a few on the North and South Coast of Cornwall - always nice to see.

[Razorbill RIBs]

Originally Posted by steco1958

I see these down in spain when ribbing and diving, when they are on the surface, I have seen gulls pecking parasites off the fish, possible symbiotic relationship.

But I am probably talking $h1T

No you're not..... very likely it was inviting the guls in to rid it of a few parasites.....

We had one here a few weeks ago (earliest we've seen one) and have been hearing of a fair few sightings..... quite a lot of Jellies about, so makes sense (despite the relative cold).....

[The Black Pig]

I have seen only two, late Aug and they soon disappeared when they saw me
No surprise there have you seen the avatar

[Maximus]

I've seen a couple in The Solent,and a HUGE Bugger in the Bristol Channell some years ago..sometimes apparently,the Surface Lolling around also helps them get rid of of Paracites which they can even allow Seabirds to remove.

Pretty awsome things when you come across a Big un!...Dont know about Global Warming...but they have certainly been visiting S.W. Waters for many years.

[JamesF]

I remember seeing one off Sidmouth in August 2004, but none since then. We probably don't go out far enough most of the time.

[lakelandterrier]

We saw one today off the Mewstone - saw dorsal fin & thought it was a dolphin or basking shark until we got close. Took some photos but don't have the Lumix download lead with us- although we seem to have every other cable invented in the laptop bag!

Interesting creature may be 1.5m-2m long - not seen one before off Dartmouth (or anywhere else) before.

[Razorbill RIBs]

Originally Posted by lakelandterrier

Interesting creature may be 1.5m-2m long - not seen one before off Dartmouth (or anywhere else) before.

Nice size for a UK sighting

On a similar note, this pic (see last pic on link) was taken by 'Sea Trust' colleagues on an offshore cetaceans monitoring trip yesterday. Thresher surrounded by Commons think the term is 'Well Jeal'

Whales in Wales: Beautiful babies and a bit of a surprise!