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In New Zealand waters, manta rays are easily mistaken for their relatives, devil rays. Until 2017, manta rays had their own genus, Manta, while the devil rays were Mobula. But DNA revealed that the species were so closely related it made no sense to keep them separate, so manta rays were reclassified to Mobula.
The demise of the Manta genus has led to some smart alecs claiming that manta rays don’t exist. Regardless of changes to the scientific name, “manta” is still widely used as a common name (it’s derived from the Spanish word for cloak). More importantly, there are some key biological differences between manta rays and devil rays, even if they’re considered family.
Shot on assignment for New Zealand Geographic Issue: 174 March/April 2022.
Read the Feature: https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/catching-rays/
Photograph Richard Robinson © 2022.
Rights managed image. No Reproduction without prior written permission.
The demise of the Manta genus has led to some smart alecs claiming that manta rays don’t exist. Regardless of changes to the scientific name, “manta” is still widely used as a common name (it’s derived from the Spanish word for cloak). More importantly, there are some key biological differences between manta rays and devil rays, even if they’re considered family.
Shot on assignment for New Zealand Geographic Issue: 174 March/April 2022.
Read the Feature: https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/catching-rays/
Photograph Richard Robinson © 2022.
Rights managed image. No Reproduction without prior written permission.
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