Pregnant reef manta spotted in open waters in Eastern Pacific is believed to have swam the longest distance ever by one of her species
- The pregnant ray was seen for the first time off a remote Costa Rican island
- This is the first time they have ever been spotted in the area of deep open water
- It was spotted thousands of kilometers away from its habitat of shallow waters
- This may mean it swam more than 5,000km and may soon give birth in the area
Scientists have reported the first ever sighting of a reef manta ray off the isolated Cocos Island, Costa Rica, in the Eastern Pacific ocean.
The latest sighting by scientists is a surprise, given that the species tends to stay in its shallow water habitat and is rarely spotted in open water.
The female, which was also pregnant, was spotted 3,100 miles (5,000km) away from the nearest known sighting.
This could mean it swam all the way out in a straight line into the ocean – the longest a manta is ever known to have travelled.
Reef mantra normally stay in their local reef habitat where they mate and remain for most of their life.
The threatened species is thought to roams coastal waters but its current location challenges the belief they don’t usually swim in open water. Reef manta can grow up to 16 feet (five metres).
This particular ray was three and a half metres long and was seen in the waters off the remote Cocos Island in Costa Rica.
Randall Arauz, a researcher from Fins Attached, said: ‘Reef mantas may travel several hundred kilometres, although they tend not to travel too far offshore.
‘It is unclear how this individual could have steered so far off course, leading us to assume it was not intentional’, said Mr Arauz.
Dr Mauricio Hoyos, an independent research on the the scientific dive where photos of the manta was taken, added: ‘When I saw her markings and pigmentation patterns, I knew that this manta was different from the ones we usually encounter in the region.’
Scientists have reported the first ever sighting of a reef manta ray off the isolated Cocos Island, Costa Rica. The latest sighting by scientists is a surprise, given that the species tends to stay in its shallow water habitat and is rarely spotted in open water.
This particular ray was three and a half metres long and was seen in the waters off the remote Cocos Island in Costa Rica. Reef mantra normally stay in their local reef habitat where they mate and remain for most of their life
The manta ray has been fitted with an tag to track its movements and see where it will give birth
Dr Andrea Marshall from the Marine Megafauna Foundation said: ‘I have been studying mantas for 16 years and they still constantly surprise me.
‘This extraordinary sighting challenges everything we currently know about the migratory behaviour of this species and its ability to undertake long-distance movements across open ocean environments.
It will be interesting to monitor her over the coming months and see how she uses this new, unfamiliar habitat’.
‘If she adjusts well to the conditions, it begs the question: why do reef mantas not ordinarily live in this part of the ocean?
While unlikely, we also cannot ignore the possibility that small populations of reef mantas may in fact exist in the Eastern Pacific and have just gone undetected.’
The manta ray has been fitted with an tag to track its movements and see where it will give birth.
The full findings of the paper were published in the journal Marine Biodiversity Records.
The pregnant manta ray was spotted off Cocos Island (pictured) in Costa Rica, in the Eastern Pacific ocean
