Author: Liénard, 1840

Masturus lanceolatus Liénard, 1840

Diagnosis: median lobe of clavus about length of head, supported by 3-9 rays without terminal ossifications. Colour: silvery blue, often with silvery spots on sides of body and bases of fins. Size: to about 3 m TL.

Habitat: 3 developmental stages as in M. mola. Food: no data. Reproduction: no data.

Distribution: the Azores. Cosmopolitan.

Eggs, larvae and young stages. McCulloch, 1912: 553 (part.), pl. 59 (Mola sp.) | Gudger, 1939: 305 (part.), fig. 1-5 | Fraser-Brunner, 1951:103, fig. 9.
Otoliths (sagitta). No data.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Subphylum Vertebrata
Superclass Gnathostomata
Class Osteichthyes
Order Tetraodontiformes
Suborder Balistoidei
Family Molidae
Genus Masturus
Species Masturus lanceolatus

Status in World Register of Marine Species

Accepted name: Masturus lanceolatus (Liénard, 1840)

Scientific synonyms and common names

Masturus lanceolatus Liénard, 1840

Synonyms:

Orthagoriscus oxyuropterus Bleeker, 1873, Versl. Akad. Amsterdam, (2) 7: 151, fig. ('Amboina'). Holotype: presumably in RMNH, no number.
Masturus oxyuropterus Fraser-Brunner, 1951, Bull. Brit. Mus. N.H., Zool., 1(6): 107, fig.9, 11.

Common names:

none.

Bleeker, P. 1873a. Description et figure d'une espèce insulindienne d'Orthagoriscus. Versl. Akad. Amsterdam, (2) 7: 151-153.

Gudger, E. W. 1939. Three six-inch pointed tail Ocean sunfish Masturus lanceolatus, the largest post-larvae on record. J. Elisha Mitchell scient. Soc., 15 (2): 305-313, 5 fig.

McCulloch, A. R. 1912. A description and figures of three specimens of Molacanthus. Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. W., 37: 228-230, 2 pl.

Fraser-Brunner, A. 1951. The Ocean Sunfishes (Family Molidae). Bull. Pr. Mus. nat. Hist., (Zool.) 1 (6): pp. 89-121, 18 fig.

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