by Alex Rose

Photo by Alex Rose

The secret lives of manta rays are relatively unknown to us, but recent research has revealed some fascinating discoveries about rapid color change in these animals and what it might mean.

Manta rays are considered elasmobranchs along with other rays and sharks, and are one of only eleven species in the Mobulidae family including manta and mobula rays. They are currently divided into two recognized species, Manta birostris, which are the larger oceanic mantas, and M. alfredi, which are the smaller, but still impressively large, reef mantas. While both species are considered pelagic, M. birostris is more migratory and seems to have a wider geographic range, having been seen in waters ranging from the east coast of the United States to northern New Zealand. M. alfredi has a smaller home range that is typically restricted to tropical waters, and is more commonly spotted near coral reefs and tropical island chains.

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By Chris Clifone

CCilfoneONE

My clock says 4:30am and I'm already late. I grab my bag and race down the road to Lahaina harbor. After an hour of prep our boat is ready for a sunrise whale watch.

It's just after 6 in the morning on the beautiful island of Maui and I'm aboard a vessel filled with 100+ people searching for the North Pacific Humpback Whale. Still slightly asleep I ask myself why the heck would anyone, especially people on their vacations, want to wake up at zero dark thirty to go whale watching. Then 100yrds off our starboard bow the answer comes to me. Like a bat out of hell one of the largest animals on this planet rockets its entire body up and out of the water. Surrounded by passengers in a total state of exuberance, cheering, clapping and crying, a subtle smirk crosses my face and I think to myself  "Oh yeah, the same reason I wake up everyday at 4:30 in the morning."

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By Alex Rose

Nembrotha Kubaryana

Nudibranchs are fantastically amazing animals. They come in just about every color imaginable, are shaped in the most peculiar of ways, eat some of the weirdest things, have gills growing out of their backs, smell and taste with stalks growing out of their heads, and can be toxic.

A bit more than you might expect from an animal sometimes called a sea slug right?  

Speaking of that name, the term sea slug can be a bit of a misnomer. There are five main groups (orders) that make up sea slugs one of which is the nudibranchs (Nudibranchia), meaning that all nudibranchs are sea slugs, but all sea slugs are not nudibranchs. Let’s take a moment to get to know a bit more about these intriguing creatures and how to properly classify them.

Sports brands | Nike Air Force 1 , Sneakers , Ietp STORE

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