WATERY WEDNESDAY # 8

WATERY WEDNESDAY # 8

Wake up for Watery Wednesday! We have a gentle giant for you today! This big guy glides through the water looking for tiny, tiny animals to eat! So who this special fish? Let’s find out!

MEET THE MANTA RAY!

Range/Habitat: Worldwide/tropical-sub-tropical

Diet: Carnivore: plankton, small schooling fish

Length/Weight: 13-23ft/up to 1 ¾ tons (more than a small car)

Conservation Status: Near threatened

Fun Facts:

• The Manta Ray is the largest ray in the world!
• They filter plankton (tiny animals) out of the water. The water goes over their gills and special plates called gill rakers catch the plankton.
• Manta rays can eat up to 60 lbs of food a day.
• Manta rays are related to sharks. Their skeleton is made up of cartilage (the tissue in your ears and nose).
• They have large lobes on the side of their head to help funnel the prey into their mouth.
• Manta rays have no venomous barb on their tail like smaller rays.
• They can jump out of the water (also called breaching). They often do this to avoid predators like sharks and killer whales.

Wow! Manta rays are amazing! They are such graceful and beautiful animals! We would love to go swimming in the ocean and meet one up close and personal! Too bad we don’t speak Manta ray J!