My god, that thing's spectacular. Like a living coral reef, an ecosystem unto itself. I haven't seen them look so...lumpy, though, besides that one; usually they're smoother. It must have been quite ancient for its species.
Some more info: the video was shot at a depth of around 15m, not more. We rolled off the inflatable, dropped down and there it was. The location is Wied il Mielah, on the north coast of Gozo. The first part of the video is a continuous take (missing the initial swim towards the Mola as my gopro was switched off!!!, luckily i did a quick check) My buddy on that dive, Erik Vestrum, can be seen with a camera, taking pictures. He also took a 10 second video, wich i spliced in at around 3 minutes. There is a clear change in sound. The diver in that shot is me swimming next to and videoing the Mola. F.Y.I... I am 1.94m tall (without fins... ;)) I have been contacted for some more info as this may be the largest Mola ever seen. The last part of the video was taken around 20 minutes later at roughly the same depth but from further away as we returned from our tour of the dive site. I was diving with Calypso Diving Centre, Marsalforn, Gozo
I think this is a unique Mola and its one of the largest I have ever seen in my life. Really you are so lucky to encounter such huge wonderful harmful creature and dive beside it in such close distance. . Well done !
"By adulthood, they have the potential to grow more than 60 million times their birth size, arguably the most extreme size growth of any vertebrate animal." So from the looks of it, he must be really old. That's pretty awesome I know sunfish grow huge but never seen one like that.
Are Sunfish and Mola Mola of the same family? This is pretty awesome to see a fish so big, nice to see that there is some amazing balance since it eats jellyfish (which are a plague on itself sometimes). Amazing that it's not attacked by sharks or orca's for over 30-40 years then.....
Wat een mazzel, duik er al een aantal jaar elke zomer. Maar deze nog nooit gezien. Wel een paar jaar geleden een veel kleiner exemplaar. Dit jaar wel een massiv amber jack gezien, zeker 2 meter in lengte. Tussen de azur window en old mans cave. Zijn alleen zo snel als ik denk aan mijn camera zijn ze al weg.
At first I thought it was a floating garbage bag.... ;) we were not that close and it was not immediately clear what it was, but approaching it quite quickly I saw the outline of the Mola, head-on.. only then did I realise how big it was
Hi, I have been thinking about that.... But this is more.. how it really was.. I am not a professional camera man, just a lucky diver with a point and shoot GoPro ;)
Yeah and that's awesome. But. I think that you can retain the experience of what it was like, and make it more accessible at the same time by using the stamilization tool. It's to get more views, and a viewing experience more like people are used to. Love the video, want it to get more views ^_^
mother nature :))) even iphone need an inventer and manufacturer, this creature also have the same. some called Creator, some God, some Allah. but no, not mother nature.
Not everyone believes in the same mumbo jumbo you do bub. You might be used to using god as an explanation for the unknown but those without a lazy mind can work toward a real answer, and that is exactly what we have done for the past several hundred years. So dumb
Thomas Maxey If you are still not seen the obvious, considering to millions of signs around, I wonder whose the real dumb. Don't worry you will see the answer sooner or later ;)
You're going to cease to exsist the moment you die and it will be just like the time before you were born. Your body will rot and be consumed by nature. All that you are will live on for a brief moment in the memories of your family but in a couple generations you will only be a name and a distant relative to your grandkids. This is too much to handle for weak minded people like yourself so you latch on to a pleasant fairy tale and live in blissful ignorance. See you on the other side Bud
What a pathetic thought. I feel sorry for you. To live like that, to live you won't rise again, that would be painful. Every second you are getting closer your doom. You must be suffering. Anyway in other ways, as Imam Gazali said, if you are right I won't lose anything. Just to spent my whole life as a good person. But if I'm right, then I will be rewarded and you going to suffer on other life too. What a waste. Awake my friend. awake and find the purpose of this trial. Think why we are the only living who has a mind. Read Quran only once. You don't lose anything.
I'm so confused about what I'm looking at. Which side is supposed to be up? Is their a find on the top and bottom of the thing or on each side? Crazy stuff....
Have you ever seen those shell things stuck to the sides of boats or piers ? They are crustaceans. They pretty attach themselves permanently to stuff and filter water and eat the tiny stuff in it to survive. Sort of like a clam does.
Dear Erik van der Goot I am Yoshikawa,assistant director at D Complex inc. We are writing to request your permission to use your video clip on UA-cam. Our company works for Japanese TV productions, and currently we are working on the TV show about mola. In the show, we would love to use your video. We would be grateful if you could consider to give us a permission for the video. Best regards, Yoshikawa
It was previously called Mola ramsayi, but is now called Mola alexandrini - it is in fact the world’s heaviest bony fish - ahead of Mola mola. See: link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs10228-017-0603-6.pdf
Erik van der Goot wow, that’s impressive! At the beginning a actually thought that it is about 10 meters, because of the diver who looked very small. How did you understand it is M. Alexandrini?
My non-expert answer is: "anything up to 50 years". When I asked an expert he said that they know very little about the age of Mola Mola in general and his answer would be similar to mine...
yeah,, right mate,,, whatever deity you can blame your own fuck-ups on. "It wasn't my fault,,, ------ WILLED IT !!! Grow up ,, take responsibility for your actions,, & stop letting a mythical being rule your life. & ,, at the moment,,, the things fuckwits do in the name of your God,,, make me sick.
considering how slow & languid these beautiful creatures are it's amazing they don't get predated on & are able to get through all the dangers of the sea to reach such an impressive size. I'm put in mind of how orca attack & kill whales which are considerable larger & so much faster than these mola. Nature is by far more fascinating than we can imagine. Unspeakably disgusted by certain human races who would gladly kill these animals for selfish & ignorant reasons. This video is quite humbling, such a peaceful creature.
I think their meat is toxic because of their jellyfish diet, so most predators steer clear. But some parts are edible. I have had mola mola intestine before and it has a texture similar to pig intesting, but not much taste. It was probably taken as bycatch and the guy who prepared it just wanted to see what it tasted like. Also, orcas kill mola mola for sport, although I doubt they would want to mess with this one in particular.
Wow! Didn't know sun fish could grow to such a large size.
Awesome
My god, that thing's spectacular. Like a living coral reef, an ecosystem unto itself. I haven't seen them look so...lumpy, though, besides that one; usually they're smoother. It must have been quite ancient for its species.
That's not just a fish... that's an ecosystem in its own right.
Yep. Life feeding on life and so on and so on.
Some more info: the video was shot at a depth of around 15m, not more. We rolled off the inflatable, dropped down and there it was. The location is Wied il Mielah, on the north coast of Gozo. The first part of the video is a continuous take (missing the initial swim towards the Mola as my gopro was switched off!!!, luckily i did a quick check)
My buddy on that dive, Erik Vestrum, can be seen with a camera, taking pictures. He also took a 10 second video, wich i spliced in at around 3 minutes. There is a clear change in sound. The diver in that shot is me swimming next to and videoing the Mola. F.Y.I... I am 1.94m tall (without fins... ;))
I have been contacted for some more info as this may be the largest Mola ever seen.
The last part of the video was taken around 20 minutes later at roughly the same depth but from further away as we returned from our tour of the dive site.
I was diving with Calypso Diving Centre, Marsalforn, Gozo
really intense interaction there, never seen anything like it...
what an impressive once in a lifetime encounter!!
you guys have done a great one
Which time of the year it was?
forssi1 August 21st
Amazing! it looks like it has been alive for quite sometime. Imagine the stories it could tell. :D
Once upon a time I swim in the ocean for a long time. And I see fish and stuff the end
Lol
I think this is a unique Mola and its one of the largest I have ever seen in my life. Really you are so lucky to encounter such huge wonderful harmful creature and dive beside it in such close distance. . Well done !
I have found my spirit animal. ♥
These fish are so amazing!
Am I the only one that thinks it's amazing BUT scary as hell?!
ikr? i m scared of the ocean...a dive like this,to meet mola mola could give me a heart attack
I think because of its size it doest look liek anything people coudl recognize instantly. But as long as it doest look liek white shark you are good.
The biggest I've ever seen! Almost unreal!
Amazing! I have been fascinated by them since I can remember, that one surely needs to find a huge cleaning station real quick :))
"By adulthood, they have the potential to grow more than 60 million times their birth size, arguably the most extreme size growth of any vertebrate animal." So from the looks of it, he must be really old. That's pretty awesome I know sunfish grow huge but never seen one like that.
I never saw anything like it before. Such a amazing fish. Ocean is full of wonders.
Alien Face (starting at 0:53) nearly gave me a heart attack. So awesome though!
That is amazing did not know Sunfish could get that huge.
This is the best comment ever, you deserve a million likes
The largest ever recorded was 3.3m long. This one is around the same size, possibly larger. So it was a truly unique encounter
That fish doesn't appear afraid of the divers, or maybe too slow.. or at that size it isn't afraid of anything.
Pretty sure every thing you wrote is true.
Beautifull! Excelet!!! Perfect! Congratualtions!!
Incredible creature !!! Thank for the vid is perfect !
That is AMAZING. Thanks for the video.
Wao. beautiful.... If I was there I would cry because such a huge lifeform beats its heart.
A sun Fish in the mediterannean sea? And so big? Beautiful!
Never heard of a mola mola til now it's massive!!
I'm obsessed with the Mola Mola
I wonder if this the kind of fish that swallowed Jonah
i hope you're joking
+Merryn Hurley-Rawlins he's right, a mola mola's mouth is as big as your fist, and it doesnt attack anything.
Are Sunfish and Mola Mola of the same family? This is pretty awesome to see a fish so big, nice to see that there is some amazing balance since it eats jellyfish (which are a plague on itself sometimes). Amazing that it's not attacked by sharks or orca's for over 30-40 years then.....
They are the same animal. The Mola Mola is also known as the Ocean Sunfish.
That's the barrage balloon of the sea! Wonderful!
amazing, fantastic, really amazing show
Amazing! Thank's for sharing ...
They're incredibl....y large fish. I'd like to see a video of one of these actually jumping out of the water.
Amazing visibility!
Yes, very good. Visibility in Gozo is mostly like this
Amazing! Thanks for sharing!
It's amazing that something so large could go unnoticed in the Mediterranean for so long.
They normally live in deep water (but they may be close to the surface) and they can travel 1000's of kilometres. This is a rare, very large specimen.
Wat een mazzel, duik er al een aantal jaar elke zomer. Maar deze nog nooit gezien. Wel een paar jaar geleden een veel kleiner exemplaar.
Dit jaar wel een massiv amber jack gezien, zeker 2 meter in lengte. Tussen de azur window en old mans cave.
Zijn alleen zo snel als ik denk aan mijn camera zijn ze al weg.
Majestic ocean grandma.
Oh wow, that's one gigantic Mola Mola.
Holy Mola! Cool, big fish.
Amazing creature! Thanks for the video :) How old do you think this sunfish was?
Darude - Sandstorm
Hi James, see an answer earlier. Age unknown but could be anything up to 50 years
WHY IS EVERYONE SO CALM HOLY SHITTTTT
Wow. Must of been crazy first seeing it.
At first I thought it was a floating garbage bag.... ;) we were not that close and it was not immediately clear what it was, but approaching it quite quickly I saw the outline of the Mola, head-on.. only then did I realise how big it was
Велики и чудны дела Твои, Господи!
To remove the shake, you can use the youtube automatic stabilizer. It'll probably make the underwater video much more fluid.
Pun intended.
Hi, I have been thinking about that.... But this is more.. how it really was.. I am not a professional camera man, just a lucky diver with a point and shoot GoPro ;)
Yeah and that's awesome.
But.
I think that you can retain the experience of what it was like, and make it more accessible at the same time by using the stamilization tool. It's to get more views, and a viewing experience more like people are used to.
Love the video, want it to get more views ^_^
How in the hell did mother nature come up with this design?
mother nature :))) even iphone need an inventer and manufacturer, this creature also have the same. some called Creator, some God, some Allah. but no, not mother nature.
Not everyone believes in the same mumbo jumbo you do bub. You might be used to using god as an explanation for the unknown but those without a lazy mind can work toward a real answer, and that is exactly what we have done for the past several hundred years. So dumb
Thomas Maxey If you are still not seen the obvious, considering to millions of signs around, I wonder whose the real dumb. Don't worry you will see the answer sooner or later ;)
You're going to cease to exsist the moment you die and it will be just like the time before you were born. Your body will rot and be consumed by nature. All that you are will live on for a brief moment in the memories of your family but in a couple generations you will only be a name and a distant relative to your grandkids. This is too much to handle for weak minded people like yourself so you latch on to a pleasant fairy tale and live in blissful ignorance. See you on the other side Bud
What a pathetic thought. I feel sorry for you. To live like that, to live you won't rise again, that would be painful. Every second you are getting closer your doom. You must be suffering. Anyway in other ways, as Imam Gazali said, if you are right I won't lose anything. Just to spent my whole life as a good person. But if I'm right, then I will be rewarded and you going to suffer on other life too. What a waste. Awake my friend. awake and find the purpose of this trial. Think why we are the only living who has a mind. Read Quran only once. You don't lose anything.
I'm so confused about what I'm looking at. Which side is supposed to be up? Is their a find on the top and bottom of the thing or on each side? Crazy stuff....
WE AH WITNESSING A BABY FAKIN WHEEL RITE HEA DOOD.
Im fuckin weak that vid brought me here
Fantastic!
Amazing creature
Criaturas espetaculares de Deus.
youube has an antishake function you can apply. try that it should work. Very jealous, great find
beautiful!!!
holy shit! look at this fish! he may devour you!
glad i know what this is now, so if i see one in real life i won't freak out like I'm seeing some freak alien
If I had an army of these..... I could rule...... the sea, I could.......
That is a damn alien!! ALIEN!!
It's hard to tell in the video...are those sea stars all over it?
Hi, no they are like barnacles.
been on camera for a long time, sudden death
whats a barnacle? and this is awesome
Have you ever seen those shell things stuck to the sides of boats or piers ? They are crustaceans. They pretty attach themselves permanently to stuff and filter water and eat the tiny stuff in it to survive. Sort of like a clam does.
maravilhoso o mundo marítimo .
hello!
feel the mystery of the earth
Thank you
ALL GOD'S CREATURES ARE AMAZING 💖
This is actually Mola alexandrini
Dear Erik van der Goot
I am Yoshikawa,assistant director at D Complex inc.
We are writing to request your permission to use your video clip on UA-cam.
Our company works for Japanese TV productions, and currently we are working on the TV show about mola.
In the show, we would love to use your video.
We would be grateful if you could consider to give us a permission for the video.
Best regards,
Yoshikawa
Dear Yoshikawa, please feel free to use the video for your program, but please do referencere the original UA-cam video
Hello fish!
.....how does this thing reproduce?
She lays around 300 million tiny eggs, more than any other fish species!
That is not a Mola Mola but is a Mola alexandrini also known as Mola ramsayi
It was previously called Mola ramsayi, but is now called Mola alexandrini - it is in fact the world’s heaviest bony fish - ahead of Mola mola. See: link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs10228-017-0603-6.pdf
awesome!
...my god, its full of stars
he is slow and has a small mouth as he feeds?
Mola Mola?..reminds me of..that pokemon name..
HOOOLY CRAAAP
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
QUAL O NOME DESSE PEIXE?
Peixe-lua.
We have one here, in manokwari, west papua
What's the approximate size?
3.5 to 4m front to back.
Erik van der Goot wow, that’s impressive! At the beginning a actually thought that it is about 10 meters, because of the diver who looked very small. How did you understand it is M. Alexandrini?
Marianne Nyegaard contacted me. See link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10228-017-0603-6
Awesome
any estimate on it's age?
+ramprashad29 Hi, only guesswork but most likely anything between 30 and 50 years old
So lucky!!
It appears to be a big ass fish.
What was the depth on this dive?
I'm no diver, but you can see that the surface is fairly close, so I'd say around 10-15 metres.
Seems like 40-50 metre depth to me
Nope, poster said it was about 15 metres. :)
great just fascinaty
wow. just wow. :o
Any idea about its age?
No I.D. shown...........
Darude - Sandstorm
My non-expert answer is: "anything up to 50 years". When I asked an expert he said that they know very little about the age of Mola Mola in general and his answer would be similar to mine...
Erik van der Goot
Thank you.
Wie is hier door het jeugdjournaal??
Impressive
Who is she?
This is Mola alexandrini ？
yes it is
OMG!!!!!
Scary & cool
I know they are slow and harmless, but if I was in the ocean and saw that I can't say I wouldn't be feeling nervous, haha.
Maan vis?
ja. en een van de grootste ooit gezien. Er is dit jaar een studie gepubliceerd die deze vis heeft gebruikt voor een herclassificering van de Mola.
潜水艦みたいね‼️🥺✨
it seems a whale. Amazing!
one pokemon??? uol! nice!
怖いけどテンションが上がる
Algum BR?
cool
The Big
So elegant and so, SO creepy
Brasileiro da joinhaaaaaaaaeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
We could use more of these in Malta so they can eat all the jellyfish
We share this planet with many astounding creatures,,,, OMG,A,B,( I'm agnostic,, therefore, Oh My God,Allah,Buddha !!!).
yeah,, right mate,,, whatever deity you can blame your own fuck-ups on. "It wasn't my fault,,, ------ WILLED IT !!! Grow up ,, take responsibility for your actions,, & stop letting a mythical being rule your life. & ,, at the moment,,, the things fuckwits do in the name of your God,,, make me sick.
considering how slow & languid these beautiful creatures are it's amazing they don't get predated on & are able to get through all the dangers of the sea to reach such an impressive size. I'm put in mind of how orca attack & kill whales which are considerable larger & so much faster than these mola. Nature is by far more fascinating than we can imagine. Unspeakably disgusted by certain human races who would gladly kill these animals for selfish & ignorant reasons. This video is quite humbling, such a peaceful creature.
I think their meat is toxic because of their jellyfish diet, so most predators steer clear. But some parts are edible. I have had mola mola intestine before and it has a texture similar to pig intesting, but not much taste. It was probably taken as bycatch and the guy who prepared it just wanted to see what it tasted like. Also, orcas kill mola mola for sport, although I doubt they would want to mess with this one in particular.
that is not a fish