Nobody believed the fish could fly until they saw the mobula rays in the photos below.
Images of stingray hovering in the air
The mobula stingray , aka the stingray, has two special horns on its head, which can fly into the air for a few seconds before falling back into the blue sea.
Scientists have not yet explained why stingray acts like that. They make the assumption that this could be a mating ritual , a way to eat or a fun act of manta rays. However, no hypothesis has been accepted.
All of the photos below were taken by Octavio Aburto, a professor at Scripps Oceanographic Institute, with the International Animal Conservation Photographer team at the beach in California, USA in 2011 when there were thousands of rays demons gather at the beach and constantly fly.
Devil stingrays have relatives close to manta rays.Some demon rays can reach 5 meters long and weigh up to 1 ton.
Octavio shared with Business Insider that the giant stingray sharks he saw at the Gulf of California in 2011 arrived in January and stayed in the bay until May.
Dozens of hundreds of rays will jump off the water at the same time.Researchers found that the stingray rays often lie along the outer region of the fish.This may be the key for scientists to find out why they jumped out of the water.
When landing, the manta rays contact the water surface with the abdomen, not the head.
This contact will create a large oscillation, which can be used to scare prey like shrimp that reach near the flock to make it easier for the fish below to hunt.
Sometimes stingrays are out of control, tumbling in the air and landing with their backs, not with their stomachs.
There are many stingrays that like to move in flocks that make them very easy to hunt.In fact, many rays are in danger of extinction.
In February 2013, fishermen in Gaza, Palestine, captured more than 200 rays in one day.
The area Octavios captures these wonderful photos has been banned from fishing for more than two decades.He and other researchers have come to the area for years to study how the ecosystem's recovery.
The best jump of the demon stingray is 2 meters high above the sea level.
In addition to jumping ability, some demon rays can also dive very deep.Tarapacana stingray is one of the deepest diving marine animals in the world, it can dive to nearly 2km.
Every year, Octavius returns to the area, but every year he has seen demon stingrays appear as in 2011. He thinks the temperature is too warm that the stingrays cannot return.
Octavio hopes one day he will be able to admire the spectacular jumps of demon rays.If the opportunity comes, he will record the sound of landing rays of the rays to find out why they jumped.
