One notable example is "Nandi", a manta ray that was accidentally caught in shark nets off the coast of Durban, South Africa in 2007. Only four aquariums in the world currently have manta rays on display. Manta Rays are very rarely kept in captivity, primarily due to their size. SeaWorld Orlando will debut Manta, a flying roller coaster themed to resemble the manta ray, in the summer of 2009. They often depicted Manta rays in their art. The Moche people of ancient Peru worshipped the sea and its animals. Moche Manta ray AD 200 Larco Museum Collection Lima, Peru. Mantas are known to breach the water into the air. They have the largest brain-to-body ratio of the sharks and rays. They will often surface to investigate boats (without engines running). Although they may approach humans, if touched, their mucus membrane is removed, causing lesions and infections on their skin. Mantas are extremely curious around humans, and are fond of swimming with scuba divers. The predators of the Manta ray include mainly large sharks, however in some circumstances orcas have also been observed preying on them. Mantas frequent reef-side cleaning stations where small fish such as wrasses and angelfish swim inside the manta's gills and all over its skin to feed, in the process cleaning it of parasites and removing bits of dead skin. The small prey organisms are caught on flat horizontal plates of russet-coloured spongy tissue, that span the spaces between the manta's gill bars. Mantas are filter feeders: they feed on plankton, fish larvae and the like, passively filtered from the water passing through their gills as they swim. The genus Manta is sometimes placed in its own family, Mobulidae, but this article follows FishBase taxonomy, and places it in the family Myliobatidae, along with eagle rays and their relatives. Three species have been identified: Manta birostris, Manta ehrenbergii, and Manta raya, but they are quite similar, and the latter two may just be isolated populations. Taxonomically, the situation of the mantas is still under investigation. Their spiracles have become small and non-functional, as all water is taken in through their mouth instead.Ī Manta ray with attached remoras at Ningaloo Reef. Their dermal denticles are also greatly reduced in number and size, but are still present, and they have a much thicker body mucus coating than other rays. For example, all that is left of their oral teeth is a small band of vestigial teeth on the lower jaw, almost hidden by the skin. Because of their pelagic lifestyle as plankton feeders, some of the ancestral characteristics have degenerated. This allowed them to grow to a larger size than any other species of ray. Manta rays are believed by some to have evolved from bottom-feeding ancestry, but have adapted to become filter feeders in the open ocean. The manta can curl them to reduce drag while swimming. These flexible horns are used to direct plankton, small fish and water into the manta's very broad and wide mouth. This gives the manta ray the distinction of being the only jawed vertebrate to have novel limbs (the so-called six-footed tortoise, Manouria emys, does not actually have six legs–only enlarged tuberculate scales on their thighs that look superficially like an extra pair of hind limbs). During embryonic development, part of the pectoral fin breaks away and moves forward, surrounding the mouth. These unique structures are actually derived from the pectoral fins. To swim better through the ocean, they have a diamond shaped body plan, using their pectoral fins as graceful "wings".ĭistinctive "horns" (from which the common name Devil ray stems) are on either side of its broad head. To respire, like other rays, the manta has five pairs of gills on the underside. A manta's eyes are located at the base of the cephalic lobes on each side of the head, and unlike other rays the mouth is found at the anterior edge of its head. Mantas are most commonly black dorsally and white ventrally, but some are blue on their backs. Recent studies have discovered that what is called manta ray are at least two different species, one smaller local and one much larger and migratory. Some people just call all members of the family stingrays, though stingrays comprise a separate family of rays (Dasyatidae). Mantas have been given a variety of common names, including Atlantic manta, Pacific manta, devilfish, and just manta. It ranges throughout all tropical waters of the world, typically around coral reefs. The manta ray ( Manta birostris), is the largest of the rays, with the largest known specimen having been more than 7.6 m (about 25 ft) across, with a weight of about 2,300 kg (about 5,000 lb).
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