Biologist Takes a Trip to the Amazing World of the Giant Manta Ray

Precious little is known about the giant manta ray fish, and Biologist Andrea Marshall got to know them slightly better thanks to a first hand experience with the fish. She calls them “the most beautiful underwater birds” and simply looking at the images, we can clearly understand what she means.

The biologist had a chance to swim with these “mysterious” fishes off the coast of Mozambique, and she returned with a wealth of information. Until recently, it was believed that the fish has only one species, but Dr. Marshall found that some of the manta rays lived and behaved differently, and was able to identify one new species of the manta ray.

She also found that the manta ray migrates nearly 700 miles to reach the Maldives, which is also a unique gathering place for pregnant reef mantas and could be critical for the survival of the species. Most manta rays give birth to a single pup once in a year, but they rarely do this two years in a row. The beautiful fish are falling prey to unregulated fishing due to their demand in traditional Chinese remedies.

Source: Mail Online

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