MANTA RAYS

 

These giants of the ocean can reach 27 feet wide and weigh up to 2 tons. Their lives are a mystery to science with not much research because the large variety are known to move across oceans. Their smaller versions are mainly coastal feeders yet will disappear from their usual haunts for 6 months at a time. 

They have the largest brains and brain to body ratio of all fishes and are considered quite intelligent, being one of a scant few of species who pass the "mirror test" which tries to determine if they possess the ability of visual self-recognition. Included in this group are the great apes, a single Asiatic elephant, dolphins, orcas, the Eurasian magpie and the cleaner fish, the wrasse.

This is a big creature.

Those few that have studied the Rays for years discovered that the black spots on white belly are unique to the individual. This has aided in identifying and tracking Rays to figure out where they go.

A.O. Armstrong et al

Mantas and sharks belong to the same family and in fact, Mantas resemble flattened sharks. Something they and sharks share is a ritual of going to a cleaning station in the reefs where groups of specialized fishes will clean, groom, take out parasites and dead skin. Spa treatment! 

One curious feature of Manta life is their mating rituals known as the Manta train. A female will lead a procession of male suitors, young and old of whom she will choose to be the lucky guy. The largest train witnessed contained 20 males following a single female.