Manta ray
Mantas are found in tropical and subtropical waters in all the world's major oceans and also venture into temperate seas. The furthest from the equator they have been recorded is North Carolina in the United States (31ºN) to the north, and the North Island of New Zealand (36ºS) to the south. They prefer water temperatures above 68 °F (20 °C).
The name "manta" is Portuguese and Spanish for mantle (cloak or blanket), a type of blanket-shaped trap traditionally used to catch rays. Mantas are known as "devilfish" because of their horn-shaped fins, which are imagined to give them an "evil" appearance.
As filter feeders, manta rays consume large quantities of zooplankton in the form of shrimps, krill and plantonic crabs. An individual manta eats about 13% of its body weight each week. When foraging, it slowly swims around its prey, herding it into a tight "ball" and then speeds through the bunched organisms with a wide-open mouth. If a ball is particularly dense, a manta may somersault through it. While feeding, mantas flatten their cephalic fins to channel food into their mouths and the small particles are collected by the tissue between the gill arches. As many as fifty individual fish may gather at a single, plankton-rich feeding site.
The name "manta" is Portuguese and Spanish for mantle (cloak or blanket), a type of blanket-shaped trap traditionally used to catch rays. Mantas are known as "devilfish" because of their horn-shaped fins, which are imagined to give them an "evil" appearance.
As filter feeders, manta rays consume large quantities of zooplankton in the form of shrimps, krill and plantonic crabs. An individual manta eats about 13% of its body weight each week. When foraging, it slowly swims around its prey, herding it into a tight "ball" and then speeds through the bunched organisms with a wide-open mouth. If a ball is particularly dense, a manta may somersault through it. While feeding, mantas flatten their cephalic fins to channel food into their mouths and the small particles are collected by the tissue between the gill arches. As many as fifty individual fish may gather at a single, plankton-rich feeding site.
Similan fish guide : Manta ray vdo
Similan fish guide : Manta ray vdo
Diving with the manta ray , the best place to see these great creatures is at Koh Bon
