Canvas by Colbi Farris

colbifarris416 — 2024-04-19 14:48:30 UTC

Reef manta ray

colbifarris416 — 2024-04-19 14:48:51 UTC

scientific name Mobula alfredi

colbifarris416 — 2024-04-19 14:50:17 UTC

Manta rays primarily feed on planktonic organisms such as euphausiids, copepods, mysids, decapod larvae, and shrimp.

colbifarris416 — 2024-04-19 14:50:39 UTC

Reef manta rays have a wide distribution in tropical and subtropical waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

colbifarris416 — 2024-04-19 14:51:11 UTC

Manta rays are cartilaginous fish in the subclass Elasmobranchii, and close relatives of the shark.

colbifarris416 — 2024-04-19 14:51:42 UTC

They are filter feeders, eating the microscopic zooplankton that drift along in the ocean currents.

Mantas are amongst the largest fish in the ocean with a wing span of up to 7 metres and weighing up to two tonnes.

Despite their size, manta rays are completely harmless to humans.

colbifarris416 — 2024-04-19 14:52:04 UTC

Pregnancy lasts about 12 to 13 months and manta rays give birth to live pups.

may only reproduce every 4 years.

they do the manta Conga dance

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45 years of life but not much is known about their growth and development.

colbifarris416 — 2024-04-19 14:53:22 UTC

A broad head with an enormous wide mouth flanked by two broad, flexible, fleshy lobes (cephalic fins).

colbifarris416 — 2024-04-19 14:59:41 UTC

The reef manta ray (Mobula alfredi) is a species of ray in the family Mobulidae, one of the largest rays in the world.

(7 levels of taxonomy)

kingdom-Animalia

phylum-Chordata

class-Chondrichthyes

order-Rajiformes

family-Mobulidae

Genus-Mobula

Species-birostris

colbifarris416 — 2024-04-23 13:25:45 UTC