It is worth noting however, the stingray will only use this if they feel threatened, so always watch out for these guys. The stinger is strong enough to pierce through the skin of an attacker and releases a complex venom that can cause intense pain at the puncture site. It is certainly a worry if you would step onto a stingray, as they use their deadly stinger as a defense mechanism. They are able to breathe and push water over the gills. Stingrays have the ability to bury under sand and perfectly camouflage themselves. Steve was a great Australian conservationist and died way too young. The poisonous dagger-like stinger killed him, and his death was most likely almost instantaneous. Steve Irwin died in 2006 after he accidentally got stung directly into the heart by a short-tail stingray. The answer to that question is: “No, it wasn’t a manta ray.” This is one of the most frequently asked questions we get asked before we take people out to swim with mantas. “Wasn’t it a Manta Ray that Killed Steve Irwin?” If you would prefer to look & listen, click play to watch the video. Note: I have also recorded a video about this topic. Let’s dive into this a little deeper and answer all your questions – like do mantas have teeth, stingers, or barbs? How dangerous are they really? Are Manta rays dangerous? Noticeably, the mantas possess wide cavernous mouths and a large wingspan of up to 12-14 feet ( reef mantas) / 22 feet ( pelagic mantas). There are many misconceptions when it comes to these marine animals, mainly due to the sheer size and shape of their body. There are only very few animals that feed on giant manta rays – one of them is the tiger shark.At Manta Ray Advocates, we refer to mantas as the ‘gentle giants of the sea’. They do not fight, each one lives on its own and acts peacefully towards its fellow species during encounters. Giant manta rays are loners and do not defend a special territory against other rays. Giant Oceanic Manta Ray - Photo: Sergey Uryadnikov/Shutterstock Life Style Biologists assume that the ancestors of the giant manta rays used their teeth to chew their food, but that the teeth lost their function when rays started to change their diet to plankton. Yet, the rays do not use them to grind their food. In their lower jaw, manta rays have a large number of teeth that are as small as pinheads. Cute! Giant Oceanic Manta Rays Have Teeth, But They Don't Bite In Australia, there also exist devilrays with a length of just about 24 inch (60 cm). In general, giant manta rays reach a length of about 13-16 feet (4-5 meters). The record length of 29.8 feet (9.1 meters) is not officially confirmed, yet large specimens can be up to 23 feet (7 meters) long. Giant Oceanic Manta Ray - Photo: magnusdeepbelow/Shutterstock Anatomy and Appearance The Biggest Giant Oceanic Manta Ray Giant manta rays look like birds when flapping their long fins up and down. Most rays swim with wavelike movements of their wings. Sometimes giant manta rays also jump several meters up out of the water to shake off the pesky parasites when diving into the water surface again. They don’t harm their “hosts” but rather help them to get rid of parasites by feeding on them. Suckerfish (a species from the bass family) latch on sharks and rays with the suction plate on their heads. Giant manta rays do not take care of their personal hygiene themselves. Giant Oceanic Manta Rays Get Cleaned By Other Fish They only feed on plankton, are rather tame and (other than the stingray) not poisonous. Who would be surprised to hear that sailors told horror stories about them in the 18th and 19th century? Yet, giant manta rays are completely harmless. Giant oceanic manta rays have a long sting-like tail, are huge and swim through the oceans as noiselessly as bats. Giant Oceanic Manta Ray - Photo: wildestanimal/Shutterstock Behavior Are Giant Oceanic Manta Rays Dangerous? They “swallow” the water with their mouth to filter out the plankton. Giant manta rays cross the oceans searching for plankton and therefore can often be seen slightly below the water surface close to coral reefs. Diet What Do Giant Oceanic Manta Rays Eat? The giant manta was named for its dark colored back, which makes it look like it has a blanket on it. They look like small horns and have earned the genus the name "devil ray" (also because of their size). Right in front of their eyes, they have two movable head fins. Giant oceanic manta rays belong to the Mobula family and are more commonly known as giant manta rays. Worldwide, particularly coasts, reefs and rocky shores
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