Description
Manta rays have a distinctive body shape with triangular ‘wings’ and paddle-like lobes extending in front of their mouths. The disc width can reach at least 7 m (23 ft) and there are even anecdotal reports of up to 9.1 m (30 ft). They weigh up to 1,350 kilograms (3,000 lb). They are generally dark on the upper surface, ranging from black to greyish-blue and brown, with pale undersides; individuals have a unique pattern of blotches and scars that can be used to identify them. The large, cavernous mouth is situated at the front of the body and contains 18 rows of teeth on the lower jaw.
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“As they are not seen on their way down the streams, it is thought by fishermen that they never return, but waste away and die, clinging to rocks and stumps of trees for an indefinite period; a tragic feature in the scenery of the river bottoms worthy to be remembered with Shakespeare’s description of the sea-floor.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
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—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)