FIRST RECORD OF A STRANDED SPECIMEN OF THE SHARPTAIL MOLA, MASTURUS LANCEOLATUS (ACTINOPTERYGII: TETRAODONTIFORMES: MOLIDAE), FROM THE CENTRAL COAST OF PERU

The Molidae arc a widely distributed family, but they arc rarely encountered and their distribution and abundance have poorly been documented. A stranded specimen of the sharptail mola, Masturus lanceolatus (Lienard, 1840), has recently been recorded on a Pacific beach in Peru. We examined, measured and photographed the specimen. It is very likely that the presently reported sharptail mola was originally captured by a Peruvian purse seiner or longliner and later discarded as a useless bycatch.