#mobula

SCIENTISTS UNCOVER A NEW SPECIES OF MANTA RAY IN THE ATLANTIC OCEAN

For over fifteen years, scientists suspected that a mysterious species of manta ray was hiding in plain sight in the Atlantic Ocean. Often confused with its close relatives, the oceanic manta ray and reef manta ray, this elusive animal was finally confirmed and formally described as a new species: Mobula yarae. Through a careful combination of genetic studies and physical comparisons, researchers showed that this species forms a distinct evolutionary lineage. It has unique features, including a striking V-shaped mark behind its gills, a special kind of skin denticle shaped like a star, and a small residual spine embedded near its tail. These traits, along with its DNA, make it unmistakably different from other known manta rays.

The newly Atlantic Manta Ray Mobula yarae lives only in the Atlantic coast of the Americas, and seems to prefer warm coastal and estuarine waters. Juveniles have been spotted along the Amazon coast, in Florida, and around the oceanic islands of Brazil. Adults, on the other hand, are more common around the Yucatán Peninsula and the southeastern United States. Sadly, this new species is already facing serious threats. It is often caught by accident in fishing gear, hit by boats, tangled in lines, and exposed to growing coastal pollution. These dangers are made worse by the fact that Mobula yarae looks so much like other manta rays, making it difficult to protect unless it is properly identified.

-Distinct colouration of manta ray species. Dorsal and ventral colouration pattern of Mobula birostris a, d, Mobula alfredi b, e, and Mobula yarae c and f.

The name yarae comes from Yara, a mythical figure from the Indigenous Tupi and Guaraní cultures. Yara is known as the mother of the waters, a powerful spirit of beauty and protection. Naming this ray after her is both a tribute and a call to action. The formal recognition of Mobula yarae opens the door for targeted conservation efforts. With its unique traits, restricted Atlantic distribution, and vulnerability to multiple human pressures, this species qualifies for urgent assessment under international and national conservation frameworks. Ensuring accurate identification and monitoring will be essential to prevent further decline and to secure the long-term survival of this newly described manta ray.

Photographs: Sean Rowan Laughlin

Golden Trevally (Gnathanodon speciosus), juveniles, family Carangidae, order Carangiformes, school near the front of a Manta Ray (Mobula sp.), family Mobulidae, order Myliobatiformes in the South Pacific

And the next watercolour friend: a Reef manta ray! There's actually three species of manta rays, the Giant (the super huge one), the Atlantic, and the Reef, which is the smallest and the species that is most often seen on dives in French Polynesia.

This painting was my super favourite! I just loved the way the shape turned out and how it all seemed to flow, and somehow the colours worked very well. Especially considering how dark it had to be (it's quite difficult to get very black blacks with watercolour!).

Photographs by Guy Stevens of Manta Trust (link)

Image descriptions:

1. A transparent PNG of a reef manta ray from a 3/4 view and slightly above; its cephalic fins are down in a feeding position and its mouth is open. It has soft white coloration on the tips of its pectoral fins and on its shoulders.

2. A transparent PNG of a pair of reef manta rays, they are small and in the right-hand corner of the frame. One is facing the camera head-on and its mouth is open to feed. The other is turning away from the camera with its white underside exposed, its cephalic fins are down in a feeding position.

3. A transparent PNG of a giant oceanic manta ray from the front and slightly below; its cephalic fins are furled and their white edges make a spiral effect, its ventral side is mostly white. Two fish, likely remora, cling to the ray between its cephalic fins and its ventral gill slits.

4. A transparent PNG of a giant oceanic manta ray from the front and slightly above; its cephalic fins are down in a feeding position and its mouth is open. It has extensive white coloration on the dorsal side of its pectoral fins and its shoulders.

5. A transparent PNG of a reef manta ray from a 3/4 view and slightly above; its cephalic fins are down in a feeding position and its mouth is open wide. It has soft white coloration on the tips of its pectoral fins and a very small amount visible on its shoulders.

6. A transparent PNG of a reef manta from below. It is turning to the side and its cephalic fins are down in a feeding position. Its mostly-white ventral side has smoky smudges on the posterior undersides of its pectoral fins and in a W-shape beneath its gill slits, it has small black freckles mostly at the base of its pectoral fins.

"Mobula"

Design by Timor Bozca