The coffee-table-size, flat fish was an ocean sunfish or Mola mola, a name derived from the Latin for "millstone" and aptly descriptive of its shape and weight.

The Mola mola is a frequent visitor to Cape waters and the season is under way for finding them stranded on the shores of Cape Cod Bay, Carson said. Although there are three types of ocean sunfish, the Mola mola is the one most likely to be sighted off the Cape's shores.

Carson, a naturalist for the Captain John Boats out of Plymouth, collects information on ocean sunfish strandings and sightings, compiling the data to better understand the habits and life of these bizarre-looking fish. She compiles information on where and when a Mola mola is spotted locally through an online spotting network that also covers basking sharks, another large fish spotted in Cape waters.

The Mola mola holds the record for the world's largest bony fish and is related to puffer fish. It swims through the water using large dorsal and anal fins as well as a large tail-like fin, which it uses as a rudder. Its truncated shape leaves the impression that its body has been cut in half.

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