#Pink manta ray skin

To put things into perspective, manta rays are typically either all black, all white, or black with a white belly. It causes the pigmentation to express as red or pink and has never been seen before on manta rays. Nicknamed Inspector Clouseau, after The Pink Panther, this creatureвЂ™s color is not due to ЙЄКџКџЙґбґ‡ss or diet, but instead a Йўбґ‡Йґбґ‡бґ›ЙЄбґ„ бґЌбґњбґ›бґЂбґ›ЙЄбґЏЙґ that expresses melanin differently. Located in Australias Great Barrier Reef, the male manta reaches about eleven feet in length. Readers are encouraged to support Project MantaвЂ™s research by submitting photos of manta rays to or via their Facebook page вЂProject Manta вЂ“ The Manta Rays of AustraliaвЂ™.вЂњI had no idea there were pink mantas in the world, so I was confused and thought my strobes were broken or doing something weird,вЂќ he said. Citizen science is incredibly important, as well as photographers like Kristian, as they are highlighting the incredible natural world and providing valuable data to scientists to improve our understanding. The team at Lady Elliot Island and Project Manta are extremely happy that the pink manta has attracted attention for manta ray research in general. During the last sighting in August 2019, he was observed involved in courtship behaviour so if weвЂ™re lucky there may be some baby pink mantas appearing soon. The pink manta has only been sighted at Lady Elliot Island 7 times, with the first sighting being back in October 2015. It is potentially an example of erythrism, where an animalвЂ™s skin, hair, feathers or fur exhibits a reddish pigmentationвЂќ. We are hoping to further investigate this individual to confirm our hypothesis, but our current understanding is that this colouration is a result of a different expression in the melanin, likely a result of a genetic mutation. вЂњThe individual appears healthy with no unusual or uncharacteristic behaviours, and given the persistence of the pigment over time, we have also ruled out infection. The manta has been sighted numerous times with no change in pigmentation so, although we have not conducted stable isotope analysis, we have ruled out diet as the causeвЂќ continues Ms. вЂњGenetic analysis revealed no difference at the population level between this individual and others in its cohort. вЂњInspector Clouseau is the worldвЂ™s only known chevron manta ray that has a black back and a bright pink belly.вЂќ

Kathy Townsend explained that mantas come in three colour morphs вЂ“ melanistic (all black), chevron (black back and white belly) and leucistic (pale grey back and white belly). вЂњThis was investigated for structural changes in the tissue, and was found to be consistent with samples from reef manta rays of regular colour morphologyвЂќ explains Asia Armstrong.Дr.

#Pink manta ray skin

He was first sighted back in 2015 off Lady Elliot Island, and in 2016 one of the Project Manta researchers, Amelia Armstrong, took a small skin biopsy of his underbelly (photo below).

The pink manta, nicknamed Inspector Clouseau, is #900 in the Project Manta east coast photo ID database. The group has been visiting Lady Elliot Island for many years and gathering research to better understand these magnificent creatures. Project Manta is a multidisciplinary research collaboration focusing on the population ecology and biology of manta rays within Australian waters. We got in touch with Asia Armstrong and Kathy Townsend from Project Manta to learn more. Photo Credit: Amelia Armstrong, Project Manta This photo has received a wonderful response so we thought it was fitting to provide some more details on why our friend, Inspector Clouseau, is tickled pink. Last week, as part of our weekly #MantaMonday, we shared a photo taken by Kristian Laine of a very rare pink manta ray.