Species identification of sunfish specimens (Genera Mola and Masturus, Family Molidae) from Australian and New Zealand natural history museum collections and other local sources

This data-in-brief comprises a summary of sunfish specimens (Genera Mola and Masturus, Family Molidae, >29 cm total length) from natural history museum collections and other sources, such as strandings, in Australia and New Zealand. Each specimen was evaluated morphologically and identified to lowest possible taxon based on recent advances in the understanding of the Mola taxonomy. References to phylogenetic analyses, where applicable, are included. The summary was collated in support of publication Giant jelly eaters on the line: species distribution and bycatch of three dominant sunfishes in the Southwest Pacific[1].


Subject area
Biology More specific subject area Systematics, taxonomy, morphology Type of data Tables, images How data was acquired Specimen morphology was assessed in person or from photographs. Phylogenetic information was sourced from published literature.

Value of the data
Provides a comprehensive overview, including images, of sunfish specimens (genera Mola and Masturus) currently held in museum collections in Australia and New Zealand.
Includes specimens not lodged with a museum, but for which samples are held by the authors.
Resolves several errors in sunfish species identities of museum specimens, based on recent advances in the taxonomic understanding of the genus Mola.
Provides information for researchers on where specimens and samples are held, for future research and collaboration. Table 1 lists material of ocean sunfishes (genera Mola and Masturus 4 29 cm) held in Australian and New Zealand natural history museum collections. Table 2 lists specimens from Australian and New Zealand obtained from other sources, but which are not lodged with a natural history museum. The tables contain specimen detail, morphological assessment, Accession numbers for genetic sequences and references to phylogenetic studies, where applicable, and a verified or updated species identity. Tables 3 and 4 contain images, where available, of specimens in Tables 1 and 2. 2. Experimental design, materials and methods

Museum registration number and specimen details
Basis for specimen identification in this study; DNA sequence accession numbers in parentheses.      Table S1) (D-loop: LC271189). Also in [1].

M. alexandrini
a Included in sea surface temperature analysis in [1]. b Coordinates updated since [6]. and recently reviewed [3], was also included for completeness. Museum codes are according to [4] except OMNZ and WRM.

Other material
Sunfish from other sources, such as strandings, were examined in person by one or both of the authors, or by volunteers. In the latter case, the morphology was also assessed from photographs by the authors. Table 3 Photographs of museum specimens (Table 1). No photographs were available for specimens CMC (mounted specimen, no registration number), NNZ-1b, SAMA AMSTAC1924, NMV 32054, SAMA F6046, SAMA F8085, SAMA F9303, SAMA F3316 -F3319.

Morphological assessment
Specimen morphology was assessed against relevant and recent literature [3,5,6]. Each specimen was identified to the lowest possible taxon, noting that the two Mola mola (Linnaeus, 1758) clades (Pacific vs Atlantic) [1,8,9] cannot be distinguished morphologically from the currently available literature [4]. For specimens examined from photographs, as many characters as possible were assessed, and a specimen identification assigned when a subjectively satisfactory combination of clear traits was available. Some of these specimens were also included in the description of Mola tecta Nyegaard, Sawai, Gemmell, Gillum, Loneragan, Yamanoue, Stewart, 2017, and re-description  Table 4 Photographs of specimens from other sources ( Table 2).