{"id":1678,"date":"2008-11-21T10:54:43","date_gmt":"2008-11-21T14:54:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/?p=1678"},"modified":"2008-11-21T11:32:44","modified_gmt":"2008-11-21T15:32:44","slug":"another-ocean-sunfish-washes-ashore-on-cape-cod","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/?p=1678","title":{"rendered":"Another Ocean Sunfish Washes Ashore on Cape Cod"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Stranded Ocean Sunfish (Mola mola)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

When autumn winds churn Cape Cod Bay\u00c2\u00a0each November, that seemingly placid sea broils\u00c2\u00a0in angry froth and\u00c2\u00a0surrenders\u00c2\u00a0cherished secrets along\u00c2\u00a0its high tide wrackline.\u00c2\u00a0 This year has been no exception, and in fact has offered more than its\u00c2\u00a0annual share of ocean treasures.\u00c2\u00a0 From a large blue shark <\/a>to electric torpedo rays<\/a>, interesting critters have dotted bayside beaches from Provincetown to Bourne.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Large ocean sunfish\u00c2\u00a0(Mola mola)\u00c2\u00a0joined the castaways\u00c2\u00a0as reported in Turtle Journal on November 1st [Exotic Ocean Sunfish (Mola mola)<\/a>] and November 12th [Two Giant Ocean Sunfish Wash Up on Cape Cod Beaches<\/a>].\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0The team confirmed the stranding\u00c2\u00a0of yet another sunfish on Thursday at Boathouse Beach on South Wellfleet’s Lieutenant Island.<\/p>\n

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Ocean Sunfish on Boathouse Beach, Lieutenant Island<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Lieutenant Island’s north facing beach takes a beating each fall and winter as prevailing north and northwest winds pound the shoreline.\u00c2\u00a0 So, any research visit to Wellfleet includes a quick survey of this area.\u00c2\u00a0 As we crossed the footpath by the boathouse, a good-sized ocean sunfish occupied the spot where family bathers congregate each summer.\u00c2\u00a0 The rising tide lapped a few feet below the carcass, preparing to reclaim this secret on the next cycle.\u00c2\u00a0 We plan a revisit on Friday’s low tide\u00c2\u00a0to attempt a necropsy to determine … if we can … the cause of death of this fourth large ocean sunfish we have encountered in November.\u00c2\u00a0 Hopefully, the sea will cooperate.<\/p>\n

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Click Here to View Video in High Quality<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Stranded Ocean Sunfish<\/em><\/strong>\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

We took some general, preliminary measurements in case the bay decides to permanently retrieve its treasure.\u00c2\u00a0 We made the mistake of not doing so at the Shirttail Point ocean sunfish early this month because its necropsy had been scheduled for the next day.\u00c2\u00a0 Spring tides reclaimed that animal before the scientific team could reach it.\u00c2\u00a0 We won’t make that mistake a second time.<\/p>\n

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Skin Discoloration Suggests Older Carcass<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

This Lieutenant Island ocean sunfish measured 6 feet 1.5 inches from the tip of its snout to the trailing edge of its caudil fin.\u00c2\u00a0 It measured 7 feet 4 inches from the bottom of its anal fin to the top of its dorsal fin.\u00c2\u00a0 As you can see from the photograph above, its skin shows discoloration and cellular breakdown hinting that the carcass has been bouncing around the bay for some time.\u00c2\u00a0 We’ll know\u00c2\u00a0with more certainty after Friday’s necropsy.<\/p>\n

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Click Here to View Video in High Quality<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Sunset Sea Turtle Patrol<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The wind backed to the west for Thursday night’s sea turtle patrols, still whistling in at over 15 knots.\u00c2\u00a0 A few sea turtles had come in during the day scattered from one surprising ridley at Ballston Beach in Truro on the ocean side to another Kemp’s ridley at Linnell Landing in Brewster.\u00c2\u00a0 A green sea turtle also appeared, unusually encrusted with barnacles and algae; the greens we find each fall are normally pristinely clean as though they had just emerged from a car wash.\u00c2\u00a0 While the Turtle Journal team found no sea turtles on our legs of the patrol from Great Island in Wellfleet to Ryder Beach in Truro, the\u00c2\u00a0stunning, unspoiled\u00c2\u00a0beauty of a Cape Cod sunset unlittered by sights of human civilization\u00c2\u00a0creates a balanced serenity\u00c2\u00a0in an otherwise unruly, frayed and jaded world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Stranded Ocean Sunfish (Mola mola) When autumn winds churn Cape Cod Bay\u00c2\u00a0each November, that seemingly placid sea broils\u00c2\u00a0in angry froth and\u00c2\u00a0surrenders\u00c2\u00a0cherished secrets along\u00c2\u00a0its high tide wrackline.\u00c2\u00a0 This year has been no exception, and in fact has offered more than its\u00c2\u00a0annual share of ocean treasures.\u00c2\u00a0 From a large blue shark to electric torpedo rays, interesting critters […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[824],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1678"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1678"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1678\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1690,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1678\/revisions\/1690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}