A massive one-tonne sunfish was discovered washed up on a beach in Cesenatico, a port town on Italy's Adriatic coast.

The giant beast, which weighed more than a family car, was found after being churned up from the deep. A phone clip of the discovery shows the dead sunfish lying on its side in low water.

The carcass was taken away by a team of municipal workers and volunteers, including some from the local diving centre. The fish is the heaviest of all bony fish in the world, with most of its species populations considered to be vulnerable.

Some species of sunfish can reach 4.3 metres (14 feet) in size from top to bottom and weigh up to 2.7 tonnes. The fish is primarily found in the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans, but it can also be found in the Mediterranean. Sightings in the Adriatic have also been documented in recent years, according to local media.

Expert Sauro Pari, of the Cetacea Foundation, said: 'The causes of death of this specimen are not easily identifiable as it does not have obvious wounds. They can depend on many things, certainly, a necropsy analysis would allow us to better identify potential causes of an environmental nature and possibly heavy metals, for example, mercury.'

The Cesenatico Marine Research Centre confirmed that it had taken samples and that it would be conducting an analysis.