Discover the world’s largest manta ray ever recorded

Of all the fish in the sea, manta rays must be among the most graceful and breathtaking creatures. With a diamond shape and huge fins like wings, manta rays glide through the water with an ease that doesn’t match their size. Also known as seabirds, these huge fish have an average wingspan of 23 feet and a weight of about 4,500 pounds. What’s more, manta rays have the largest brains of any fish in the world.

But how big can manta rays be? We will dive into the largest manta ray ever recorded, and what size ancient manta rays could reach!

Background on manta rays

Besides their distinctive shape and massive wings, manta rays are easily distinguished by their wide mouths and “horns”, which are actually called cephalic fins, or lobes, and are used to guide water and food into the mouth during feeding. There are two types of manta rays: the reef manta ray. (alfredi’s blanket) and a giant manta ray (manta birostris)… The giant manta ray is the larger of the two. Both species have the typical stingray coloration – black on the back and white on the belly, but the giant manta rays have a black mouth, and the reef rays have a white mouth. Although these huge stingrays are often mistaken for stingrays, they do not have jagged tails and therefore cannot sting. In fact, manta rays are actually extremely gentle and friendly creatures that are not harmful at all.

Manta rays are commonly found in tropical and subtropical waters and are migratory animals that mostly follow where food is. Reef manta rays are mostly found in the Indo-Pacific Ocean, while giant manta rays are often found in seas around the equator. Ecuador is currently home to the largest single population of manta rays, with around 650 identified. In deeper waters, manta rays are often seen diving to a depth of about 2,000 feet, but they have been known to dive much deeper at times, with their powerful wings propelling them through the water.

The largest manta ray ever recorded

Although manta rays have an average wingspan of 23 feet, the largest manta ray ever recorded was much larger, reaching a whopping 30 feet. This huge manta ray, registered in 1920, even made it into the Guinness Book of Records as the largest manta ray ever recorded. No weight has been recorded for this record holder, but the heaviest In 1933, a manta ray was recorded that weighed about 5,000 pounds.

Despite its oversized weight, the female giant manta ray only achieved a relatively small 20-foot wingspan. Caught by Captain Khan, a New York silk merchant in 1933 off the coast of New Jersey, a massive manta ray got entangled in his boat’s anchor channel while he was fishing and towed it five miles in three hours while he feared his boat … will turn over.

Were the ancient rays even larger?

Many of the largest modern species had relatives that actually outnumbered them. For example, while the largest sea turtle today weighed up to 2019 pounds, ancient sea turtles weighed 2.5 times that! The largest white shark ever recorded weighs around 5,000 pounds, but Megalodon could weigh 20-50 times more!

So, were the ancient manta rays giants that could reach 50 feet across? Although the rays have been around since the Jurassic period (150 million years ago), there is no evidence that the rays were larger in the past than today’s giants. This means that today’s giant oceanic manta rays may be the largest species to ever swim in the world’s oceans!

Interestingly, about 95 million years ago, there was a species known as the “eagle shark” that combined aspects of sharks and rays. The unique prehistoric fish has long wings like a stingray, but the body of a shark. However, compared to today’s giant manta rays, it would be rather small, only 6 feet long.

What is the difference between manta rays and other fish?

It is already quite impressive for manta rays to reach this size without being predatory animals and consuming only a small fraction of the food that the ocean can provide, but how do they compare to other fish in the sea?

Manta rays are the fifth largest fish in the sea after giant sharks, whale sharks, great white sharks and tiger sharks, the largest of which is the whale shark, about 60 feet long. Manta rays are also the largest of all animals in the order. Batoidea including stingrays, manty and skates. Since the largest stingray species have an average wingspan of only five feet, manta rays outshine them.

There are several other fish species, such as the 24-foot long beluga sturgeon and the about 4,300 pound ocean sunfish, which are similar in size to manta rays, but still smaller, that is, the manta rays. stingray retains its position as one of the largest fish in the world.

How do manta rays get so big?

All mantas feed on filters and eat plankton, shrimp and other small organisms. Manta rays have a unique feeding method as they hold their head fins in the shape of the letter “O”, helping to push water and food into the open mouth. Taking a sip of water and plankton, they push them through the gill stamens, which are like a giant filter that separates food and pushes the water back. They often even perform excellent roles in barrels during feeding to help them eat more food with each sip.

Because manta rays are so massive, they have very few natural predators other than some of the largest sharks and killer whales. Despite their large size, they can move quite quickly and reach a top speed of up to 15 miles per hour, which helps them escape predators. However, their main threat actually comes from us humans, as they often end up in fishing nets as by-catch. Although data on the general population are scarce, both stingrays are officially classified as endangered, with the giant manta ray classified as critically endangered and the reef manta ray classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.

“Manty trains”: how rays multiply

Although manta rays are generally solitary animals, they come together to feed and mate. Perhaps one of the most unique and exciting things about manta rays is the impressive “manta trains” that happen before mating. These manta trains are groups of up to twenty males that chase and chase the female for several weeks. Eventually, all but one of the males abandon the pursuit, and the female mates with the last remaining male – often the fittest and strongest male.

The average lifespan of manta rays is over fifty years, and most females become fully mature by 15 years of age, when they can begin reproducing offspring. Female manta rays give birth every two to three years, and, surprisingly, young manta rays are actually called cubs. Like sharks and some snakes, manta rays are “ovoviviparous”, which means that a young manta ray puppy hatches from an egg inside a female, which then gives birth to a live baby. Gestation lasts about 13 months and usually only one puppy is born.

When we think of a puppy, most people probably imagine something pretty small, but this is not the case for manta rays, as even their babies are quite large when they are first born. Reef stingray puppies have a wingspan of 3 feet at birth, but the giant manta rays are twice as large, with a wingspan of 6 feet, which is pretty impressive for a child. However, manta ray puppies are so big when they are born and literally on their own right from the start. This is due to the fact that manta rays do not feed their young and do not form bonds; instead, the young puppy must immediately learn to feed on plankton.