Photo: Gant223 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Description
- 📏 up to 5 m wingspan
- 🌊 lagoons and passes, cleaning stations
- 🛡️ Vulnerable (IUCN)
The reef manta ray is a peaceful giant with a black back and a white belly marked with spots that allow each individual to be recognised. It filters plankton as it swims with its mouth wide open and comes to be cleaned by small fish at « stations » on the reef. It has no stinger.
Did you know?
In Tahitian it is called fafapiti or fafarua. Encounters with mantas, notably at Moorea, Bora Bora and Tikehau, are among the finest snorkelling experiences in Polynesia.
Source: TAXREF vernacular database
Tahitian names: TAXREF (INPN/MNHN) – Society Islands. French name: Raie manta de récif.
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