for National Geographic News
What scientists call the manta ray is actually at least two distinct species with unique behaviors and lifestyles, a scientist announced recently.
The more commonly known manta ray is smaller and more easily seen, usually staying near coasts.
Little is known about a second, larger species that avoids contact with humans and seems to have wider migration patterns. It also has evolutionary remnants of a spine and a harmless, nonstinging barb on its tail.
The two types—which are not yet named—also appear visually distinct, exhibiting unique colors and textures.
Andrea Marshall, a Ph.D candidate at Australia's University of Queensland, presented the findings last week in Montreal at a first-ever symposium of ray experts.
Manta rays are graceful giants in the ray family that can weigh over 4,400 pounds (2,000 kilograms).
Australian environmentalist Steve Irwin was killed by such a barb.
While both manta species roam all the oceans, they appear to have a different lifestyle.
The smaller rays—familiar to divers in Hawaii, the Maldives, Mozambique, Australia, and Japan—are year-round residents of certain marine spots, such as coral reefs.
Scientists suspect the larger, more mysterious, rays are highly migratory animals that wander the world's seas.
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