Water Magazine No. 1 Manta Ray

The most common are the so-called medium-sized individuals, whose fin span reaches 4.5 m, and weight is about 1.5-2 tons, some individuals reached 9 m and weighed 3 tons, he is the largest known stingray. They are able to swim at speeds up to 30 km/h. Many of them are also called "Sea Devils" because of the pectoral fins near the face.

Manta rays are widely but fragmentally distributed in the tropical, subtropical and temperate waters of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans. During feeding, breeding and cleaning of parasites, stingrays often form flocks, although not as numerous, less than 30 individuals. They are hardy, make long and long journeys up to 1100 km. They dive to a depth of 1 km. They stick to the shores for a couple of autumn months and in spring, and go into the sea in winter. During the day they are on the surface, at night they sink into the water column. These rays have practically no natural opponents in nature due to their large size. Only carnivorous large sharks and killer whales dare to attack them.

According to the way they are eaten, they can be called large "filters". They have spongy beige-pinkish plates between the gill arches, which are a device for filtration. Their main food is zooplankton and fish eggs.

The species does not pose any danger to humans.Manta rays are not the object of targeted fishing, but are caught as by-catch.The number of giant sea devils has decreased significantly over the past 20 years due to overfishing.Recently, there has been an increased demand for the gill stamens of these fish, which are in demand in Chinese medicine. In addition to fishing, manta rays are threatened by habitat degradation. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assigned this species the protected status of "Vulnerable".Manta rays are incredibly interesting to watch in their natural environment: their smooth, graceful, soaring movements in the water are fascinating. Observation and feeding of stingrays under the guidance of a marine biologist are offered to tourists who are near the habitats of these animals.

Sometimes the water "flight" of a majestic stingray can turn into a real aerial one. He really soars above the surface of the sea, making something like a jump to a height of up to 1.5 m. It is unclear why this is happening, but the spectacle is truly magnificent. There are several assumptions: so he tries to get rid of parasites on the body, or exchanges signals with other individuals, or silences the fish with a blow of a powerful body on the water. At this moment, it is undesirable to be near him, he can turn the boat over.