March 22, 2019, 12:26 AM 
A rare giant sunfish was found washed ashore on a beach in Coorong National Park, South Australia, by two fishing crew members, according to a Facebook post by National Parks South Australia.
Thought it was driftwood
What initially happened was that a social worker, Linette Grzelak, posted the picture of the sunfish in a fishing group on Facebook, and the news was then picked up by the National Parks South Australia.
Grzelak said her husband, Steven Jones, found the sunfish on March 16 along with his cockle fishing crew.
Jones thought the fish was a piece of driftwood, and Grzelak, upon seeing the photos her husband took, originally believed the creature to be fake as well.
Photo from National Parks South Australia, Facebook
Photo from National Parks South Australia, Facebook
The sunfish was approximately 1.8m long and 2.4m in height, including both fins.
The sunfish was eventually washed back into the ocean, as Jones and his crew had no reception and were unable to call for the fish to be collected.
National Parks South Australia added in the comments of the post that "there’s no way of knowing why this specimen died".
"It seems healthy looking and without any obvious injuries," they added.
Mola mola
The ocean sunfish, a rare find on the shores of Australia, is also known by its species name Mola mola.
Sunfish are the heaviest of all bony fish, a group that excludes sharks and rays, which are cartilaginous fish, according to National Geographic.
They can weigh more than a car, and larger specimens can reach weights of more than 2,000 kg -- roughly the weight of a pickup truck.
Sunfish can also grow to heights of 4m, from fin to fin.
Take a look at these massive creatures.
Photo by Vijay Raman, Facebook
Unlike most fish or other marine creatures such as dolphins, sunfish lack long, defined tail fins or flukes, and their bodies have instead evolved into a circular bullet-like shape with a short rounded tail fin.
They swim using their dorsal (top) and ventral (bottom) fins, and use their rounded tail fin to steer.
Sunfish diets consists mainly of jellyfish, and they can dive down to depths of 800m to feed, according to Science News.
The ocean sunfish is currently classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which could be due to marine plastic pollution.
Sunfish often mistake plastic bags as jellyfish and end up choking or suffocating on them.
Mola mola fan club
The awkward bizarre-looking fish has garnered a rather niche following.
There is a Mola mola fan club website online, which has social media pages as well.
In mid-2014, a mobile phone game titled Survive! Mola Mola!, which required players to care for and grow a Mola mola, was developed in Japan.
The Japanese edition of the game reportedly had four million downloads by 2015, according to Tech in Asia.
Here's what the game looks like:
Photo from Jarumon Jérémie Bonbons, Facebook
Very interesting creatures.
Top photo from Linette Grzelak, Facebook
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