Photos of the moon fish. Common sunfish or mola mola: photo and description

Stylization 2.
Somnambulist.

Instead of an epigraph:
“There is a huge difference between: 1) the beautiful, free, unclouded world of nature, so calm, quiet and incomprehensible, and 2) our everyday bustle, with its sorrowful anxieties, experiences and disputes...”
“Describing a flower with love for nature contains much more civic feelings than denouncing bribery, because here there is contact with nature, with love for nature.” (Dostoevsky).
When we wake up, we see the remnants of dreams. The sleepy brain completely abandons ordinary thoughts, becomes foggy and retains only fabulous, fantastic images. These images are so convenient that they somehow appear in the brain by themselves, without any hassle on the part of the thinker. And, unexpectedly, of their own accord - you just have to shake your head well - they disappear without a trace. And everything around doesn’t immediately invite ordinary thoughts: a warm bed and a cold, implied, floor. From here, I want to lie down...
From a dream-memory.
To the right the hills and ravines darken - this is the edge, the high end of our village, lost among the forests. To the left, the entire sky above the horizon is filled with a crimson glow - rising sun, invisible behind the dense forest, colors the tops of tall spruce trees standing in an even formation just beyond the edge. And it is difficult to immediately understand the meaning of this glow. Whether it was a distant fire, or whether the sun is really about to rise, it is not visible. This was the peculiarity of the morning dawn in our village, with the pretentious name “Old”.
Gradually, the distance becomes visible as during the day and its delicate lilac-pink color disappears. Then the fields beyond the ravines are lost, disappearing, in the morning haze of fog. As if covered with a blanket, the distance is hidden in this white haze.
In the spring, all night long, birds click and chirp in the willow bushes along the ravines, and nightingales sing, giving out their unimaginable trills. And in the morning, in the fog, suddenly everything becomes silent, waiting for the first rays of the Sun, ready to disperse this fog, warming the sleepy nature. This calm fascinates with its mystery. Just now, even when the sky over the forest from the east was colored - the chirping of birds, the trills of nightingales, the chirping of grasshoppers could be heard from all sides.

But, suddenly, nature froze all over for a while. And as soon as a ray of sun flashed from behind the tall fir trees and quickly illuminated the surroundings, the hubbub, hubbub, noise and movement seemed to break out of captivity. Birds called to each other in the undergrowth of the edge, flying from branch to branch, from birch to birch. The crows, cawing, flew somewhere on business. Behind them, the jackdaws added their voices, jumping along the branches. And in the birch forest the neighboring magpies chattered, talking and sorting out their everyday affairs.
The day started off fun. Nature knows no sadness.
And the person who was sad and sleepy by the fire also finally wakes up and, optimistic, goes for dry firewood to light a fire and warm up. On a foggy morning there is always a little bit of coolness. Especially by the river.

(Digression) Nature and art are two components, like material and creation. By combining creation and material, the world created beauty. Even beauty must be helped: even the beautiful will appear as ugliness if it is not decorated with art. For it removes flaws and polishes virtues, and turns imperfections into beauty.
Nature leaves us to the mercy of fate - it’s worth resorting to art! Without it, even an excellent nature will remain imperfect.

The village is located on a gentle slope to the river. And you can’t fish near the bridge, where there is traffic, where people walk. And we decided to go to distant pools. Towards evening on Saturday we left. There, behind the forest, the river turned and formed large pools, with water swirls near trees that had fallen into the water.
Those places were excellent and not only for fishing. There, from a high hill, the entire river valley was visible. And our village was visible. For some reason this hill stood out in our entire flat area. And the forest here, on the hill, grew flimsy, low - only aspen and birch trees. But the whole point is that the hill was not earthen. It was a stone mountain and sandstone was taken from it for the construction of house foundations from all the surrounding villages. It was interesting to walk past a stone quarry, now abandoned.
Not very high - the wall rose 5 or 8 meters, as if lined with layers of stones. The entire history of the Earth was visible. Millions of years ago there was probably a sea-ocean here, and the shells died and fell to the bottom, forming all these layers and turning into stone.
But to get to the river, we had to overcome a windfall - trees randomly felled by hurricanes. And the wind always howled here in the tops of the newly grown trees. Therefore, this “hill” was considered an ancient mystical place. Previously held here pagan rituals. But we passed on the other side and did not get to the ancient temple.

The road twisted because it went around the uprooted roots of spruce and pine trees. In these holes, under the roots, the beds of animals were visible: as if specially prepared heaps of dry leaves and grass, crushed so that one could see how one of the animals was lying there. Where a small spot is crushed, there could be a hare or, conversely, a fox. Where is it pressed? great place- a bear could also be lying down. We knew the road and cut its turns and loops, passing through virgin forest on the way down the hill. So we observed animal nests.
Only after leaving the mountain did we again emerge onto a wide path, onto the road to the river. And the forest here, in the lowlands, was thicker, and it seemed to immediately get dark. The tall crowns of trees blocked the setting sun from us. We reached the river at full dusk. The sun was already behind the mountain and behind the forest.

They immediately built a fire on the sandy shore and set a pot of water to boil and make tea. Herbal tea - made from currant leaves with currant flowers, growing in abundance along the river bank. Preparations for fishing have begun.
At dusk I managed to set up my “tricks” and set them up for the night. Night fishing was also sometimes successful. About two years ago we caught a catfish here, a big one... And this time I threw a well-oiled tackle with a thick fishing line far into the pool, with obvious calculation.

After tea, my friend, let's call him Mitrich, decided to sleep and began to settle down near the fire. He was skeptical about my tricks and bells. He was an avid spinning fisher and even took part in sport fishing competitions. And he walked along the river and up and downstream, examining all the snags and holes. And I, as a passionate amateur fisherman, sit with float rods in a pre-selected place.

But I liked the donkeys. Bells ring, suspended on a taut fishing line, signaling a bite. And I even read the relevant literature. In our library, in the section " Agriculture", there was also a subsection "Fish farming", and among these books about raising fish in ponds there were books about recreational fishing. And there, in books about fishing, I read that you can fish at night. “Night Bream Fishing” - for example, that was the title of one small brochure.

So, while I was busy on the shore, throwing my little things, my Mitrich had already gone for spruce branches, for spruce branches. He moved the fire to the side and laid the spruce branches on the heated hot sand. I walked up and warmed my frozen cold hands, stretching them towards the fire. Mitrich was reclining on a warm spruce tree, lighting a cigarette.
- So you’ll be walking around here all night like a sleepwalker! - Mitrich said, exhaling smoke after the first puff.

- And this disease is called somnambulism. - he stated at the end, “flashing” with his knowledge.
I was silent in response for now, turning away from the smoke of the fire. He turned his head to the sides, rubbed his hands and again extended them to the fire, which warmed him pleasantly. The spring water was very cold, and it got colder in the evening. This is in mid-May: it seems that when the bird cherry blossoms, there are frosts. It's always like this in spring...
- What about “bream fishing at night”? - I reminded Mitrich. I also gave him such a book to read.
- Ha! It was about winter fishing. - Mitrich remembered. - Do you think fish don’t sleep at night? -
“Well, I don’t know,” I answered without humor to Mitrich’s smile.
- There will be no fishing for you at night. You remember everything about that catfish (?!) - Mitrich reminded me of an old fishing trip - And then, that catfish was caught in the morning. So give it up. Set yourself up here. I also brought you spruce branches. - and Mitrich showed me a place covered with spruce branches next to him.

We laid our feet next to the river. Mitrich looked at the fire. And I looked at the stars, lying on my back. It warmed my back pleasantly, the heat passed through the spruce branches from the hot sand.
“And look how interesting it turns out: catfish, and “nambula catfish,” I said out loud, after some silence. - Suddenly, he’s not sleeping. What if he crawls along the bottom at night and looks for prey, huh? - I turned to Mitrich.
- Come on! And then: you have to catch catfish with a frog, but what do you have - worms!?! - he said skeptically in response.
- Yeah! Now I’ll try to catch a frog. - and I began to rise.
- She probably needs to be “pressed down” a little. Catfish loves “carrion” - carrion?! - I asked Mitrich for advice.
- Here you are - “somnambulist”. - Mitrich stirred, already settling down to sleep and covering himself with the jacket he had taken off. - Well, press down a little so that she doesn’t completely die right away. Go catch your catfish, and I’ll go to sleep, don’t bother me! - and Mitrich covered his head with his jacket.

So I left Mitrich by the fire, and I went to set up the gear for catfish, my “nambula catfish.” It was not difficult to catch the frog, right there on the river bank. And soon the tackle was successfully thrown into the pool, closer to its middle.
The fish still did not sleep. Of my four tricks, two worked constantly. Only the bells tinkled quietly, and I jumped up from my “contemplation” of the beauties of nature and the night sky. Mostly small things were caught: ruffs most often dangled on hooks. But several good chub and white bream were also caught on the bait that was thrown onto the rapids, at the transition of the riffle into the pit.
And, suddenly, the “main” gear for the catfish gave a “signal”. It was probably already after midnight: “Here he is, the catfish-nambula, and I got caught,” I thought, already getting ready to fish big fish.
There was a catfish. And while fishing it out, I fumbled for a long time, there was strong resistance, I went into the water several times, afraid that the line would break from the strain.

Mitrich also heard the splashes - he ran to me and held a landing net at the ready, which we didn’t need. The catfish wouldn't fit into it. Exhausted, after 10-15 minutes of resistance, the catfish, as if truly asleep, sleepy, calmly allowed itself to be pulled to the sandy shore. Mitrich saw a huge fish and entered the water on the side of the catfish; he picked it up with his hands near the gills, carried it further ashore and threw it on the sand. Only then did the catfish begin to jump and bend. I had to take a stick that came to hand and hit him on the head to finally calm him down.
At home we learned that the catfish, our “nambula catfish,” weighed 7 kilograms and was about two meters long with a tail….
End.

In the tropical waters of three oceans, the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian, you can find interesting fish, which is called the fish-moon. Such a strange name is completely unrelated to the celestial body. This is all due to the shape and color of the fish’s body, which is very similar to the lunar disk, and is even associated with a torn, failed pancake. Europeans call the fish moon. The Poles call it “self-head”, and in the Latin interpretation it is called “millstone”.

What kind of creature is this?

The fish reaches impressive sizes. There are no proportions in her body, so it is more correct to talk about her height. An adult individual grows up to three meters, weighing one ton. The color of the fish is gray, with rare light spots on the sides. There are no differences between males and females. The body of the fish is very short, and its main part is represented by the head. Hence the name “samoglav”. There is no tail as such. Pectoral fins poorly developed. In all likelihood, the main role is played dorsal fins, and those located in the anal area. The fish's teeth are quite sharp, but due to its weak jaws it cannot gnaw hard objects.

We have already said that the moonfish does not have a tail, and therefore it swims only using its fins. It is clear that all her movements are very slow. In order to somehow increase her swimming speed, she has to use sea currents.

Being a predator, Mola Mola is very phlegmatic and not aggressive. It feeds on plankton, crustaceans, squids, and jellyfish. Hunts like in upper layers water and on the seabed. It does not protect itself from predators at all. They calmly attack her and tear her body to pieces without any resistance. Her natural enemies are: sharks, tunas, sea lions.

The fish's inability to effectively defend itself from predators is compensated by its high fertility. During spawning, the female lays up to three hundred million eggs directly into the water. In fish, this is considered a real record. Small eggs are carried by the current throughout the ocean. The newly born fry grow very quickly, and unlike adults, they can resist predators using the sharp spines that cover their body. Within one and a half years, babies become sexually mature.

People have different attitudes towards the fish moon. For example, the Japanese are happy to eat its meat, while Europeans are cold-blooded towards it. In southern Africa, encountering a moonfish is considered a bad omen. For example, sailors associate its appearance off the coast with worsening weather and an approaching storm.

Mola-Mola can live in captivity, but in this case she needs to create the proper conditions.

Fish moon wears this interesting name, that everyone wants to see what she is like. In fact, this resident of the ocean is quite large in size, she can grow more than 3 meters, and her weight can be more than 2 tons.

In the USA, a fish was caught that reached five meters. It is a pity that the data on the weight of this specimen has not been preserved. It is not for nothing that it is considered the largest of the ray-finned fish, to the family of which it belongs.

The moon got its name because of the structure of its body. The back and tail of this fish have atrophied, so the body shape resembles a disk. But to some it looks more like the moon, hence the name. It must be said that the moon fish has more than one name. IN Latin it is called the millstone fish (Mola mola), and the Germans call it the sun fish.

If we consider moon fish photo, then you can see a round-shaped fish, a very short tail, but wide, and long fins on the belly and back. Towards the head, the body narrows and ends with a mouth, which is elongated and has a round shape. It must be said that the beauty’s mouth is full of teeth, and they are fused together like one bone plate.

In the photo there is a moon fish or mola mola

The skin of this ocean dweller is very thick, covered with small bony pimples. However, this structure of the skin does not prevent it from being elastic. There are legends about the strength of the leather; even the “meeting” of a fish with the hull of a ship causes the paint to peel off the hull. The color itself can vary from very light, almost white, to gray and even brown.

It is believed that the huge beauty is not very smart, because with her weight of 200 kg, only 4 grams are allocated to the brain. Maybe that’s why she is practically indifferent to the appearance of a person and shows no reaction to him.

You can easily hook it with a hook, but you won’t be able to catch it with a harpoon - the skin of the fish reliably protects it from troubles in the form of a harpoon. The tip of the harpoon cannot penetrate this “armor”; it simply bounces off.

The skin of the moon fish is so thick that it cannot be pierced with a harpoon.

It seems that she does not notice the attack on her person at all; she slowly continues to swim further in the thickness of the Pacific, Indian or Atlantic Oceans, Where the fish is the moon and lives.

Character and lifestyle of the moon fish

It is interesting that the young of this fish swim quite normally, like most fish, but the adults have chosen a different method of swimming - they swim lying on their side. It’s hard to even call it swimming, it’s just a huge fish lying at the surface of the ocean and barely moving its fins. At the same time, if she wants, she can put her fin out of the water.

Some experts are inclined to think that only not entirely healthy individuals swim like this. But it is worth noting that excellent swimmer Even the healthiest moon fish is not. For her, any current, even not too strong, is too difficult a problem, so she swims where the current takes her. More than once, many sailors could admire how the giantess swayed on the waves.

Such a sight for fishermen South Africa causes fear and even panic; seeing the moon fish is considered very bad omen. However, it itself does not attack a person and does not bring any harm to him.

Most likely, the fear is caused by some superstitions. There is also an explanation - you can see this fish near the shores only before an approaching storm. Despite the fact that the moon fish has sufficient weight and is well protected by its skin, it has plenty of enemies.

Sea lions and sea lions bring particular suffering. , for example, tries to gnaw the fish’s fins, after which the sedentary prey remains completely motionless, and only then the predator tears the moon fish apart.

Man is also quite dangerous for this fish. Many experts believe that the meat of the moon fish is tasteless, and some parts are even poisonous. However, there are a lot of restaurants in the world where they know how to cook it so that it is an exquisite delicacy.

They catch the moon and for medical supplies, she is especially appreciated for this in China. This inhabitant ocean waters does not like company too much, preferring to live alone. You can meet her in pairs, but this happens extremely rarely.

This incomprehensible behavior interests the cleaners, and they get to work. And to make things go faster, you can involve in the work and seabirds. To do this, the moon puts its fin or snout out of the water.

Nutrition

With such a sluggish lifestyle fish moon, Certainly, predator cannot be considered. She would starve if she had to chase prey with her swimming skills.

The main food for this ray-finned representative is zooplankton. And he surrounds her in abundance, all she can do is suck him in. But the moon fish is not limited to plankton.

Small squids, fish fry, this is what the beauty can “serve to her table.” Sometimes a fish wants to taste plant food, and then it eats aquatic plants with great eagerness.

But although the inactivity of the moon fish does not give it the slightest chance of hunting, eyewitnesses claim that they observed something similar to this case. With all her 4 gram brain, this beauty has figured out how to get mackerel.

It is clear that she is not able to catch up with her, so the moon fish simply swims into the school of fish, rises up and plops down with all its weight into the water. The multi-ton carcass simply kills the mackerel and then starts eating. True, such “preparation” of food is not systematic and is not typical for all individuals.

Reproduction and lifespan of moon fish

The moon prefers to spawn in warmth, that is, in the waters of the Pacific, Atlantic or Indian Oceans. This giant is considered a very fertile mother, because she lays hundreds of millions of eggs. However, it was not in vain that nature rewarded her with such a “large family”; only a small number of fry survive to adulthood.

The fry have a number of differences from their parents. IN early age they have a large head and a round body. In addition, fry have a swim bladder, but adults do not. And their tail is not as small as that of their parents.

Over time, the fry grow up, their teeth grow together into one plate, and their tail atrophies. The fry even change their swimming method. After all, after birth, the fry swim like most fish, and already in adulthood they begin to move in the same way as their parents - on their sides.

There is no exact data on the duration of this fish. In her natural environment the fish has not yet been sufficiently studied, and in aquarium conditions It is extremely difficult to maintain - it does not tolerate limited space and often breaks against the walls of a reservoir or jumps onto land.

Somnambulism is walking in your sleep. This phenomenon is also called sleepwalking or sleepwalking. Somnambulism is a fairly common phenomenon. Nowadays, 2% of people suffer from sleepwalking.

What is somnambulism?? When we sleep, our brain is in a state of inhibition and passive interaction with the world around us. With somnambulism, a person is in a state of sleep, but at the same time makes movements: he walks around the apartment, can go outside, fall asleep where he usually does not sleep, and so on. He can walk for a couple of minutes or several hours, and sometimes behave absurdly: rearrange things from place to place, rave, and the like. In the morning, sleepwalkers remember nothing about their unconscious travels and listen with bewilderment to stories about themselves.

Somnambulism most often occurs in children. Especially when it's too impressionable, nervous child. Such children are prone to frequent experiences and are withdrawn. Often sleepwalking is accompanied involuntary urination. Somnambulism goes away with age.

Scientists around the world have been interested in this mysterious condition since ancient times, but sleepwalking has not yet been fully studied. Somnambulism was considered a disease sent as punishment by the goddess Moon. Nowadays this disease is called epilepsy. Since those ancient times, among the people, somnambulism is"moon sickness"

Often somnambulism is considered madness, and sleepwalkers - mentally ill. However, this is a misconception. Somnambulism is a disorder of sleep phases, in which the central nervous system is in a state of inhibition. This condition does not affect the motor functions of parts of the brain. Consequently, consciousness is turned off, and the body is in motion.

There is an opinion that somnambulism is a disease that appears in humans as a result of the action of moonlight. This is wrong. Moonlight, experts say, does not have significant influence on the human body.

May suffer from somnambulism people with illnesses nervous system, neurasthenics. Often sleepwalking is a consequence of traumatic brain injury, fright or severe emotional shock.

What to do if you live with a sleepwalker? How to behave? These questions are of interest to many who have encountered this problem. Somnambulists, as a rule, are harmless, but they may well harm or even cripple themselves during travel. According to statistics, there are 25% of such sleepwalkers. There are known cases when somnambulists climbed into windows, thinking that they were doors, or crossed balconies. Such people can walk not only around the apartment, but also go beyond it and take long distance walks. They may try to perform complex actions (driving, for example). But due to the lack of reflexes, these actions are hardly possible.

Among somnambulists there are also “passive” ones. They do not leave the premises and do not even walk around the apartment. Their actions are limited to chaotic hand movements while lying in bed, or sitting on the bed.

It is better not to wake a person in a state of somnambulism. He probably won't wake up. In addition, he can be very scared. But you can prevent troubles that may happen to him. It is advisable not to leave a person suffering from somnambulism alone in the room. It is better to sleep with him, if not on the same bed, then at least in the same room, so that at any moment you can calm the sleepwalker. Conversations with a somnambulist are just as pointless. You won’t hear anything sensible except nonsense.

Create comfortable conditions for sleep: protect the sleepwalker from noise and harsh light to avoid fright, close the windows with curtains.

Because somnambulism is directly related to diseases of the central nervous system, it is better to seek help from a doctor. Therapy Helps you stop sleepwalking and eliminate others unpleasant symptoms diseases.

In Latin it is called Mola Mola, and on English "Ocean Sunfish" is a fish that looks like the moon, which gives it its name. She looks like she only has one head instead of a body, but it's not that simple.

Imagine an animal weighing 1000 kg having a brain the size of a peanut, weighing only 4 grams!

This explains why this fish is very quiet, calm... and quite stupid.

What does a moon fish look like?

The body is tall, strongly laterally flattened, covered with very thick, elastic skin. No coccyx. High fin dorsal and anal. Small mouth. Adults do not have a bladder.

The largest specimen weighs two tons and is 3 meters long!

The sunfish is also probably the most fertile fish in the world. The average female of this species lays about 300 million eggs!

Where does the moon fish live and what does it eat?

The moon fish lives a rather lonely life, swimming freely in the vast expanses of the ocean. Sometimes, however, they gather in groups and swim sideways on the surface of the water, apparently sunbathing in the sun (hence their English name- Sunfish)

Sometimes these giants accidentally fall into fishing nets and fishermen are forced to lift them on board using cranes.

Despite their rather formidable appearance, representatives of this species feed on plankton. They also do not disdain jellyfish, calamari and eel larvae, and do not miss shellfish. The moonfish can be found in all tropical waters, and, despite its size, it is absolutely harmless to people, and the places where it appears are often the site of large-scale diving expeditions.

On the other hand, a huge fish poses a serious threat to small ships - a collision with a heading high speed A small yacht can end badly for both fish and sailors.

Moonfish caught on Sakhalin

A fish with a record weight of 1,100 kilograms was pulled out with nets by a fishing seiner from Sakhalin called the Kuril Fisherman. Russian fishermen were working near Iturup Island, their main goal was pink salmon, and the sunfish turned up by chance.

Photo: Sakhalin.info

Nevertheless, they delivered a rare specimen to the base. Since there was no room for it in the cold hold, the fish deteriorated during the passage and loading onto the shore. She was taken to the Gidrostroy company's landfill, where workers feed and photograph the bears. Very quickly nothing remained of the thousand-kilogram carcass.