Top Manta Ray Facts
The animal kingdom is home to fascinating and mysterious creatures that can amaze young and old. Meet the most interesting facts about the manta rays!
1-There are 2 species of manta rays: the reef manta (Manta alfredi) and the giant manta ray (Manta birostris).
2- The largest species is the giant manta ray, whose central disc can measure up to 9 meters wide.
3- It possesses gills in the lower body, through which it obtains oxygen from water.
4-Their diet consists basically of zooplankton.
5-It’s distributed only in tropical, subtropical and temperate waters of the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
6-They do not represent a significant threat to humans, but may attack if disturbed.
7-Manta rays have the largest brain of all fish.
8-They often visit sites called “cleaning stations” where some fish species are responsible for removing parasites from their skin.
9-They’re ovoviviparous. The female gives birth to live offspring, but these develop in eggs inside the mother.
10-Both species are classified as “vulnerable” in the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
11- Their natural predators are large sharks, killer whales and false killer whales.
12- They usually avoid contact with humans.
13-They have been observed jumping out of water, presumably to eliminate parasites or to communicate, although there is also the possibility that the act constitutes a game.
14- They have teeth but only found in the lower jaw.
15-These teeth are used to chew food.
16-Usually, a female only has 1-2 offspring at a time.
17 are not particularly social animals, but often meet when feeding and performing migrations.
18- Their, agile and elegant swimming makes them being compared with birds flapping their wings during flight.
19- They belong to the Elasmobranchii subclass the same class containing sharks.
20- Their skeleton is composed of cartilage and not bone.
21. They lack venomous tail spikes.