Friday, May 18, 2012

Manta birostris or Manta alfredi?

The two Mantas - once you know what to look for, pretty unequivocal! Click for detail.

Cool!
Ever since Andrea described the second Manta, I've been looking for a user-friendly ID guide to reliably differentiate the Giant, or Pelagic Manta Manta birostris from the Reef Manta Manta alfredi. That was a major challenge when designing the posters and ID guides for the Great Fiji Shark Count where we finally decided to reference the two species and to say that holding them apart required specialist knowledge.

Well, here it is - finally!
It is hidden within the pages of Manta Matcher, the world's first global Manta Ray database. Here are the various pics, and should you want to find out more about the principal distinguishing features, you can find them right here.
Pretty unequivocal - no need for specialist knowledge after all!


And here's the video about that glorious discovery!
Enjoy!



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