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Photo copyright Tim Nicholson.
Manta Ray, Manta birostris
Taken off Lady Elliot Island, Australia.
Awesome to see underwater, the Manta Ray is an enormous
fish spanning nearly 7 m (22 feet). You see them in warm
waters around the world, gracefully flying through the
water with steady sweeps of their giant wings.
Completely harmless filter-feeders, Manta rays use their
head fins to direct plankton into theur mouths. As plankton
occur near the surface of the seas, that's where Mantas
are also found. Filtering your food out of the oceans
doesn't take much energy, which is why Manta rays can be
so large.
Mantas sometimes leap out of the water, falling back
with a splash. This is thought to remove parasites, or
perhaps be a show of territorial rights. However, Mantas
both collaborate when feeding and follow the plankton, so
the latter seems unlikely.
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