Dear Evolution: Mola mola?
I’m not one to question the collective judgement of the process of evolution per se, but I may occasionally raise an eyebrow. One such eyebrow-raiser is the Mola mola.
Yes, this is seriously the best drawing I can do of a Mola mola. I bet you think I’m insane, or that I happened across the severed head of a large shark and mistook it for a separate species. No. This is how they look. I swear. Look!
Mola mola at the Monterey Bay Aquarium
No, I did not neglect to rotate the picture. He (or she) actually was floating around pointed down. This is an accurate representation of the random spaciness that is the Mola mola.
Mola mola is the scientific name (as in, Genus species). Someone with a dry sense of humor gave this character the name “sunfish.” While sunfish is a cute name, I prefer the scientific name because it’s so fun to say.
The Mola mola lives in the Pacific and eats jellies and other small invertebrates–basically, only things that are slower than the lazy Mola mola. While it really looks like evolution phoned it in on this one, the Mola mola is still one of my favorite animals. It’s just so gloriously weird.
Mola mola and me. Total BFFs!
