Manta Rays: Beautiful And Mysterious
The manta ray is a living being that one because of its appearance, as the epitome of Meereseleganz referred. Throughout history it has been feared because of the resemblance of its head fins to the “devil’s horns”. In addition, his body shape resembles a coat.
However, these giants are not threatening at all, as they feed on plankton and are peaceful companions. Their grace makes them appear like virtuoso dancers of an underwater ballet, as they fly through the sea and perform amazing pirouettes, turns and unbelievable jumps through the air over the water.
This fish has received many names in the world. In German it is known as a reef manta and a giant manta. You can learn more about the amazing properties of the manta ray in our article .
The classification of rays
The manta ray belongs to the class of cartilaginous fish, which are characterized by the fact that their skeleton consists entirely of cartilage tissue. This group includes various species of sharks and rays.
Cartilaginous fish have neither swim bladders nor lungs. You breathe through five to seven pairs of open gills.
This group of fish do not have gill covers, that is, the fin made of bones that covers and protects the gills of bony fish. Therefore, they do not have this control mechanism for the entry and exit of water through the gills.
For this reason, cartilaginous fish have to keep moving so that water can enter through the gills. This means that the manta ray is a fish that never stops swimming, from birth to death.
Cartilaginous fish have been around for a very long time, at least about 400 million years.
What is special about the manta ray?
Rays and manta rays have their pectoral fins spread out in the shape of wings. When they swim, they flap their fins in waves, just like birds in flight.
They have gills on their pelvis. The head of both species is broad, with eyes on either side and a wide mouth in the center. There are several rows of small teeth in the mouth that are not used for chewing. The males use them during mating to hold the females in place.
Two structures that are called head lobes protrude from its mouth. They protrude and direct the flow of water towards the mouth. These structures optimize the feeding process that the manta rays carry out by filtering water in order to ingest marine plankton. They eat a lot of it.
Both species have a whip-shaped tail. However, unlike other species of the same order, these two do not have a poisonous sting in their tail.
This marine animal is very intelligent: experts acknowledge that the manta ray has the largest brain of all fish. Recently it has been shown to have more developed cognitive abilities than the other fish species.
The habitat of the manta ray
These marine animals live in tropical seas around the world. It is interesting that the manta rays visit “foster stations” in the coral reefs, where cleaning fish and ship keepers clean them.
How big is the manta ray?
The large, flat body has a center called a disk. It is reported that the reef manta has a disc about 3 to 3.5 meters in size. In the case of the giant manta, this disc can be up to nine meters wide and weigh 1,350 kilos.
Usually, however, one sees specimens that are about four and a half meters tall. The average life expectancy of a manta ray is 25 years.
Sensitive animals
The body of the manta ray is covered by a protective mucous membrane. This has two basic functions: it acts as a barrier against infection and reduces friction to make swimming easier.
This skin can be damaged by contact with people. If you are near one of these animals, please avoid touching it.
One of the distinguishing features of manta rays – and all cartilaginous fish – is that there is a complex system of vesicles on their skin that respond to low-frequency electrical stimuli.
These electroreceptors are also known as “Lorenzini vesicles” and they have a decisive influence on the orientation of immobile electrical fields that are triggered by geomagnetism on land and the tides.
The system of electroreceptors also allows them to recognize the electromagnetic fields generated by potential predators or prey and their conspecifics during social interactions and mating.
Threats to the manta ray
This fish was hunted as a sport for its meat and oil. He’s also accidentally caught in commercial fishing nets. Hunting for the manta ray is restricted these days and is a protected species in areas like Hawaii, in the United States.
The protection of the manta ray is of economic interest as it attracts many tourists. This fish undoubtedly adds a lot of beauty, diversity, and mysteriousness to the world.
