Tailor Made Holidays in Mozambique: In the News

See a monster of the deep in Mozambique: 01-08-2008

Scientists have discovered an entirely new species of ray which had for years been mistakenly coupled with its smaller relative the manta ray.

The manta ray tends to stick by coastal areas and is much smaller than the new species, which was presented by PhD candidate Andrea Marshall at the first conference of ray experts in Montreal last week.

The larger species avoids contact with humans and, despite being capable of reaching weights of 4,400 pounds and wingspans of up to eight meters, is harmless.

It tends to avoid costal regions and has a completely different migratory pattern from the smaller species, according to the research.

Visitors to Mozambique may even be luck enough to catch a glimpse of both species at once, says Ms Marshall.

"As luck would have it, it looks like here in Mozambique is the only [known] location where we see both species interacting on the same reef," she is reported as saying in National Geographic.

Ms Marshall spent five years researching the rays before concluding that there at least two distinct species of manta rays.