Page 87 - (DK) Super Shark Encyclopedia: And Other Creatures of the Deep

FANTASTIC

“The horns on

the ray’s head are FLYER

fins that funnel MOBULA RAY

food towards
When a school of mobula rays puts on a show it is one
its mouth” of the greatest natural wonders of the ocean. Hundreds
can jump from the water, flapping their “wings” and
doing somersaults. These acrobatics may be to show
off to each other or a way to dislodge parasites. It is also
possible that they are playing so quickly near the ocean
surface that they become airborne by accident.

AT A GLANCE

• SIZE 3–21 ft (0.9 –6.5 m) length including
tail; 17 ft (5.2 m) disk width
• HABITAT Warm and tropical ocean
waters near coastlines
• LOCATION Worldwide
• DIET Plankton, small crustaceans, and small
fish filtered from the water

STATS AND FACTS
UP TO
3 LEAPING HEIGHT

SOMERSAULTS IN AIR ft 5 10
m 1 2 3 4
3¼–9¾ ft (1–3 m)

SWIMMING SPEED 12 mph
Mobula rays appear
(20 km/h)
to be most active near
mph 5 10 15
the ocean surface, but
they also dive very
km/h 10 20 30
deep to feed on tiny
planktonic animals.
DIVING DEPTH
SPLASHING SPECTACLE
ft 3,000 6,000 9,000
A display of leaping mobula BIGGEST SCHOOL
rays is an energetic and noisy m 1,000 2,000 3,000
spectacle. A group of rays MORE THAN 6,560 ft (2,000 m)
may jump several times in 10,000
succession, landing in the water
with a big splash each time.
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