#mobula mobular

Inktober 2023

Day 17: Demon

Sous la mer, près du ciel

Du bleu et de l'iode

Près du fond, loin du fiel

Des hommes, de leurs codes

Doucement tu tournoies

Lentement près de moi

Tu avance et tu vis

Dans mon cœur et mon esprit

Sur le vert des algues

Des coraux et du sable

L'eau tu fend, une dague

En paix, nage sous les lames

Joyeusement les larmes

Mobula mobular

Mobula seems to be coming from the word mobil or movable.

Family: Myliobatidae (Eagle Ray Family)

Fun Fact: They are ovoviparous (they lay an egg, but keep it inside of them, until it hatches), and are, “...Matrotrophs (i.e., the neonate receives nourishment from uterine milk secretion). They give birth to a single large pup.” (IUCN)

Habitat: They are endemic to pelagic waters in the Mediterranean Sea and eastern Atlantic Ocean from Ireland to Senegal and as far reaching west as the Azores. 

Ecosystem Role: They are epipelagic (in the sunlight zone) helping keep pelagic fish and crustacean species in check.

Photo: Rob Hughes

Giant Devil Ray or Devil Fish

Mobula mobular

A spiny-tailed ray can grow to an astonishing size: up 5.2 meters (17 ft) in length!

Photo: Franco Banfi/Solent

Photo: Phillip Colla - oceanlight.com

Nope, it’s not a photoshop: on August 26th, 1933, in the Atlantic Ocean off Brielle, New Jersey, a truly enormous Giant Devil Ray was dragged to shore after it became entangled in the anchor rope of a fishing vessel. It’s estimated the creature weighed around 5,000 pounds.