Everything must happen quickly as both mantas begin to sink and will soon need to detach to breath. He clamps down on her fin, simultaneously swinging his body so that they momentarily are belly to belly and one of the male’s claspers do the rest. The actual act is likely to last only a few seconds and goes a bit like this: on the female’s signal both manta rays swim up to the surface, and the male uses his tiny teeth to bite onto the female’s left pectoral fin. It’s suspected that the male follows the female and mates with her once she has given birth. There are plenty of knowledge gaps concerning the finer details of oceanic manta ray courtship, however what we do know is that in NZ male mantas pair with a heavily pregnant female. Therefore, it’s not surprising to find out that when a male oceanic manta ray finds a suitable lady friend, he doesn’t let her out of his sight! Romance quickly turns into an endurance test, as the male shadows the female for what is likely to be an extensive amount of time. Normally the giant manta only gets one or two pups measuring around 120 cm when they are born.Finding the perfect partner is tricky at the best of times, so dating in the great expanse of the open ocean is likely to be quite a challenge. Like many shark species, the giant manta is ovoviviparous, which means it develops and hatches eggs within the uterus after which the pups are born. Prior to 2009, all manta species were identified as M. Longevity of this species is estimated to exceed 40 years. Manta alfredi, the reef manta ray, is only observed in the Indian Ocean and the western and south Pacific. These lengths at maturity correspond to an age of approximately 8 to 10 years. Like many other shark and ray species, the giant manta reaches sexual maturity at a relatively large size, 380-410 cm for females and 360-380 cm for males. the distance between the tips of both pectoral fins) of 700 cm, but anecdotal evidence suggests that this species can grow up to 910 cm disc width. The two manta ray species, together with the mobula rays, differ from other rays by the position of their mouth, which is located on the front side of the head, whereas on other rays the mouth is positioned more ventrally. The giant manta ray can reach a maximum size/disc width (i.e. In November 2014, the reef manta ray joined the oceanic manta ray, being listed. The giant manta is thought to live a more solitary lifestyle than the smaller reef manta. Evaluation criteria for Manta birostris listing under. The species often aggregates in groups to feed, mate, or to be cleaned of parasites by smaller reef fish. Mantas often show seasonal patterns in their movements and can undertake seasonal migrations of more than 1,100 km. In 2008, researchers discovered that there are actually two distinct species: the reef manta ray, which tends to live along coastlines in the Indo-Pacific, and the giant oceanic manta ray, which lives in all the world's major oceans, spending most of its life far from land. Although mainly residing in shallow waters, the giant manta can also dive to great depths exceeding 1,000 meters. It can also be encountered in sub-tropical waters and mainly occurs in regions with frequent upwelling, islands or seamounts. The giant manta has a so-called circumtropical distribution, meaning it occurs in all tropical waters of the world’s oceans (between 40° North and South). For this reason, and because the remaining threat of the gill plate trade, all manta rays are listed on Appendix II of CITES (the international organization that regulates the trade in endangered species). According to the IUCN, the current status of the giant manta is ‘vulnerable’, which means its populations are declining and the species is at risk of becoming threatened in the near future. These plates are the most valuable part of the animal, as they are believed to have medicinal properties. The first difference could be the size because the giant oceanic manta ray is bigger than the reef manta ray, 4 to 5 m (1316 ft) on average versus 3 to 3.5 m (. The following discussion of the life history and status of giant manta ray is based on the best scientific data available, including the Endangered Species Act Status Review Report: Giant Manta Ray ( Manta birostris) and Reef Manta Ray ( Manta alfredi) (Miller and Klimovich 2017). In Asia, the species is also targeted for its large gill plates, which are dried and sold separately from the meat and liver oil. The rays are often caught accidentally as bycatch in fisheries. This species grows larger compared to the reef manta ( Manta alfredi) and has different coloration patterns and a calcified lump with embedded spine behind the dorsal fin. Unfortunately, like many other shark and ray species, populations of the giant manta ray are still in decline. A relatively rare visitor to the waters of the Dutch Caribbean is the giant manta ray, the largest of all ray species.
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