By Mark McConville

 

THESE lucky divers took the ultimate selfies after a huge SIX-AND-A-HALF-FOOT Sunfish popped up to pose for the camera.

James Taylor / mediadrumimages.com

 

Amusing pictures show the divers pulling shocked faces and giving the thumbs up while the Sunfish looks right into the camera.

James Taylor / mediadrumimages.com

 

Other incredible images and video footage show the divers swimming alongside the enormous fish and laughing and joking as it floats to the surface.

 

The remarkable encounter was captured by Chief Technology Officer at Fancam, James Taylor (42), from Melkbosstrand, Cape Town, South Africa, as he swam off the coast there.

James Taylor / mediadrumimages.com

 

“I did not plan this shoot at all,” he said.

James Taylor / mediadrumimages.com

 

“I try to always take a GoPro with me when I get in the ocean because there is nearly always something interesting that pops up and it just so happened that this day something REALLY interesting popped up.

James Taylor / mediadrumimages.com

 

“Nature is incredible and the more time we spend with her, the more of her secrets she reveals.

 

“I love when you witness amazing things and have the ability to capture them first hand and share them with the world.

James Taylor / mediadrumimages.com

 

“People say the images are fake but then when I show them the video clip they say it’s the coolest selfie they’ve ever seen.”

James Taylor / mediadrumimages.com

 

The ocean sunfish or common mola (Mola mola) is the heaviest known bony fish in the world.

James Taylor / mediadrumimages.com

 

The species is native to tropical and temperate waters around the globe. It resembles a fish head with a tail, and its main body is flattened laterally. Sunfish can be as tall as they are long when their dorsal and ventral fins are extended.

 

Adult sunfish are vulnerable to few natural predators, but sea lions, killer whales and sharks will consume them. Among humans, sunfish are considered a delicacy in some parts of the world, including Japan, Korea and Taiwan. In the EU, regulations ban the sale of fish and fishery products derived from the family Molidae.

James Taylor / mediadrumimages.com