Giant Manta Ray gliding in open ocean_08

Giants of Socorro
Giant Manta Rays are curious creatures and with the largest brain of all fish, they are incredibly intelligent. The majestic Giants at Socorro, aka the Revillagigedo Archipelago, are the world’s largest ray with a wingspan of up to 23 feet. They are filter feeders and eat large quantities of zooplankton. Socorro is one of the few places you can dive with black mantas as well as black and white chevron mantas.
 
Manta Rays are under threat by commercial fishing, with the species both targeted and caught as bycatch. Manta rays are particularly valued for their gill rakers, the filters that rays use to filter the water for food, for use in Chinese medicine because of a false belief that they have the power to cure diseases.
 
Extinction Risk: Endangered
Scientific Name: Mobula birostris