The devil ray is also called the Manta Ray, and in English it is mostly known as the Manta Ray. It is still relatively unexplored due to its habitats, which, especially for the larger species, are located far from the coasts.
The devil rays (the mantas) can be divided into two species: Manta alfredi and Manta bistrosis, where alfredi is the small manta, which in English is sometimes called Devil Ray, and bistrosis is the largest species, which is called Manta Ray.
Devil rays are easily recognizable partly by their wings and by the two fins located in front of the mouth.
Devil rays feed both on fish, which are caught underwater, and plankton and other smaller animals, which are caught at the water's surface.
The catch takes place by the devil fish swimming with its mouth open. When catching fish, it often gathers the fish first by swimming around them.
The two fins in front of the mouth, which are mostly used for maneuvering, are used during hunting to guide the prey into the mouth as shown in the image above.
In the water, the devil ray's only enemies are larger sharks and whales. In addition, they are also exposed to parasites, and therefore they regularly seek out areas with cleaner fish that eat the parasites, and studies have shown that devil rays use their intelligence to remember different 'cleaning stations'.
As with many other endangered animal species, the Chinese belief in traditional medicine is the reason why devil rays are caught in far too large numbers, considering that they are declared endangered. Especially fishermen in India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and the Philippines catch far too many devil rays compared to the number of devil fish.
In addition, many rays are caught in fishing nets intended for other fish, which is partly due to their size and lack of ability to swim backwards.
