This goofy creature is the biggest bony fish on Earth,

the Ocean Sunfish.

It's essentially a swimming face I guess,

that grows to over 10 feet long

and 5,000 pounds.

It's hard to believe from the looks of it

but it's actually related to the Puffer fish.

Long ago it's ancestors wandered away

from the reefs into the open ocean.

Being enormous won't do you no good no how

if you're looking for shelter in a reef.

But after wandering out to sea,

it was able to grow to staggering proportions.

And oddly enough it's fueling that growth

by eating jellyfish, one of the most calorie poor

critters in the ocean.

Which kind of makes them like the rice cakes of the sea.

Like a one calorie per ounce kind of calorie poor.

Jellyfish are not only low in calories,

they have core sting like crazy.

To counter this the Ocean Sunfish has

thick luscious lips which are coated in mucus.

Its intestines too are nice and thick

to handle the onslaught.

As for reproduction, a mother will release

an astonishing 300 million eggs into the water,

a world record for Gunnity.

And they're positively tiny, expanding by 60 million times

by the time they're a full grown adult.

So why are they called Sunfish?

Well, to rid themselves of parasites,

they come to the surface and roll over on their sides.

For one, UV light helps pick the parasites off

while enterprising seagulls land on the fish

and pluck off still more.

So there you have it, an actual use for seagulls.

Well, that and carrying the peach

in James and the Giant Peach.

Well, I guess that's fiction, I think.