And if you’re curious about why the sunfish received the name it did, it doesn’t have to do with its shape. But it’s possible there could be more like it out there – and if that isn’t somewhat terrifying, then I don’t know what is. But the one found in Portugal is much larger than its cousins.Įxactly what allowed this fish to become the largest fish ever caught is unclear. In fact, they can be found in aquariums around the world. And sunfish like this giant specimen aren’t completely unknown to mankind. Before that, researchers captured footage of a rare jellyfish for the first time. Previously researchers discovered a creature made of blue goo deep at the bottom of the ocean floor. What is clear, though, is that this new record holder of the largest fish ever found is just one of many discoveries we’ve made in our oceans as of late. Unfortunately, the exact cause of death is unclear. The researchers aren’t sure what killed the massive fish, however, a depression found on his skull, as well as traces of red paint in the depression, may point towards a collision with a boat, the Daily Mail reports.

They can swim up to 16 miles a day using just their top and bottom fins. A normal-sized sunfish swims through the ocean. Unfortunately, that champion isn’t alive any longer. It might have taken over 20 years, but the record-holding spot has a new champion. This new sunfish is roughly 1,000 pounds heavier than the previous record holder for the largest fish ever caught, which weighed a little over 5,000 pounds and was caught off the coast of Chiba, Japan, in 1996.

Biggest fish ever caught