@AquaClaire
3/
Despite breaking the rules of traditional ocean camouflage (where a white belly helps a ray blend into the bright surface when viewed from below), he is thriving, healthy, and completely accepted by his fellow rays. In fact, most times he is spotted, he is actively participating in courtship trains with standard-colored mantas. He is an absolute, one-of-a-kind marvel of nature!

#MantaRays
#MantaRosa
#InspectorClouseau

@AquaClaire

A special treat for you: Inspector Clouseau!

This is "Inspector Clouseau," the world's only known pink manta ray. He is an 11-foot (3.4-meter) male reef manta ray who lives around Lady Elliot Island at the southern tip of Australia's Great Barrier Reef. He was first discovered in 2015 and was aptly named after the bumbling detective in the Pink Panther films.

#MarineLife
#MantaRays
#MantaRosa
#InspectorClouseau

@AquaClaire
5/
When a diver is completely calm and breathing steadily, their body emits a steady, rhythmic bio-electric frequency. Manta rays can instantly sense this. Because they have massive brains relative to their body size, they are profoundly analytical. When they approach a diver closely and hover, they are combining their vision with their electroreceptors to create a complete "sensory map" of you.

#MantaRays
#electroreception

@AquaClaire
4/
to send an instant message straight to the ray’s brain.

Why Manta Rays Look at Us Intently

While bottom-dwelling stingrays use this sense primarily like radar to find crabs hidden deep under the sand, pelagic (open-ocean) giants like manta rays use it for complex navigation, communication, and social curiosity.

#MantaRays