First photographic records of the giant manta ray Manta birostris off eastern Australia

First photographic records of the giant manta ray Manta birostris off eastern Australia

We present the first photographic evidence of the presence of the giant manta ray Manta birostris in east Australian waters. Two individuals were photographed off Montague Island in New South Wales and off the north east coast of Tasmania, during summer 2012 and 2014, respectively. These sightings c...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Lydie I.E. Couturier, Fabrice R.A. Jaine, Tom Kashiwagi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: PeerJ Inc. 2015-01-01
Series:PeerJ
Subjects:
Mobulidae
Manta ray
Australia
Citizen science
Online Access:https://peerj.com/articles/742.pdf
Description
Summary:We present the first photographic evidence of the presence of the giant manta ray Manta birostris in east Australian waters. Two individuals were photographed off Montague Island in New South Wales and off the north east coast of Tasmania, during summer 2012 and 2014, respectively. These sightings confirm previous unverified reports on the species occurrence and extend the known distribution range of M. birostris to 40°S. We discuss these findings in the context of the species’ migratory behaviour, the regional oceanography along the south east Australian coastline and local productivity events.
ISSN:2167-8359

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