Discovered a new giant moonfish, weighing up to 2 tons

A new moonfish has just been identified after a four-year search, National Geographic reported.

Despite being the largest bone fish in the world and weighing more than two tons, moon fish is quite reclusive, making searching for the past four years very difficult.

Picture 1 of Discovered a new giant moonfish, weighing up to 2 tons
Marianne Nyegaard took pictures with the moon fish Hoodwinker ashore in New Zealand in 2014.

The team led by Marianne Nyegaard, a graduate student at Murdoch University in Australia, analyzed more than 150 samples of moonfish DNA and discovered four separate species of this genus. However, only three species have been identified before.

This led Nyegaard to believe that another species of moonfish has not been recorded. But she didn't know what it looked like or where.

The team decided to name the fourth fish moonfish Hoodwinker , which means 'hidden'. A year later, Nyegaard had a chance to see the moon fish Hoodwinker.

Picture 2 of Discovered a new giant moonfish, weighing up to 2 tons
Hoodwinker has become the first new moonfish discovered in 130 years.

In 2014, she received a phone call from New Zealand fishermen saying that the four moon fish had just landed on the Christchurch coast. Nyegaard came and witnessed the giant creature with his own eyes.

After the incident, researchers from many universities around the world collected and analyzed specimens from fish that washed ashore and proved it to be a new species. So, Moon Moon Hoodwinker has become the first new moonfish discovered in 130 years.

Picture 3 of Discovered a new giant moonfish, weighing up to 2 tons
A moonfish Hoodwinker in the Chilean sea.

Hoodwinker has many differences with the other three species. Hoodwinker has a sleeker and sleeker body, without a bump or muzzle like other moon fishes.

Nyegaard and his team later discovered moon fish Hoodwinker in New Zealand, South Australia, or South Africa and southern Chile. This suggests that they can live colder regions in the Southern Hemisphere, Nyegaard wrote in a scientific paper.

The giant shape of moon fish helps them stay warm when diving deep into the ocean. Size also makes it easier to float to the surface for heating.