![]() They are defined by their specially modified gill plates, which they use to strain zooplankton from the water column. Manta and devil rays first appear in the fossil record around 28 million years ago evolving from bottom dwelling rays, they adapted to life in the water column. Even less is known about devil rays than mantas they are generally very shy towards divers, making it hard to observe and study their behaviour in the wild. ![]() It could be that the louder splashes created by the biggest individuals are those most likely to attract a mate, but that does not seem to stop smaller rays joining in the excitement. The reason for this behaviour is unclear, but scientists believe the most likely purpose is communication. More and more join in over time, until the air is filled with leaping rays. As a shoal gets bigger, individual rays start to propel themselves out of the water, reaching heights of over two metres, before belly-flopping back into the ocean with a crash. During courting events, several of the pygmy devil ray species (particularly Mobula munkiana) are known to aggregate in vast shoals that number in the thousands - delivering one of the ocean’s greatest spectacles. But what they lack in size, they make up for in acrobatic enthusiasm. They are generally very shy towards divers, making it hard to observe and study their behaviour in the wild. We know even less about devil rays than we do mantas they are shy and elusive, making them harder to observe and study in the wild.ĭevil rays are the manta’s smaller and more elusive relatives. Further still, researchers are currently debating the existence of a third species found exclusively around the Yucatan Peninsula in the Mexican Caribbean. For example, as recently as 2017 genetic studies revealed that manta rays are more closely related to devil rays than previously thought, and that they all belong to the same genus ' Mobula' (whereas before they separated as Manta and Mobula). Genetic work is continuing to further define the true nature of this separation, both for mantas and devil rays. However it‘s worth noting these are only rules of thumb - some mantas look very similar to the other species! There are also black-morph individuals found in both manta species. ![]() The most obvious differences relate to their body size, their colouration, and their habitat use, and are described below. There are several morphological and behavioural differences that distinguish the species apart. In 2009, scientists established that there are at least two distinct species of manta ray the giant oceanic manta ( Mobula birostris), and the reef manta ( Mobula alfredi).
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