I'm posting this a little later than I wanted to today, but I haven't been feeling the greatest over the last 24 hours and I've had a bit of a fever. I'm feeling better now though so decided to post this before I go back to bed. Today I'm doing a little info-blog about stingrays and manta rays, their differences, similarities, habits, and hopefully a lot of facts you'll find interesting about both species. First, let's talk a little about the differences between stingrays and manta rays. 

Stingrays:

• Flat, diamond-shaped, or circular bodies.
• Their habitat is usually coastal waters and sandy or muddy areas.
• For food they scoop or suck prey up from the sand.
• They have a whip like tail that may have one or more stingers depending on the species of rays.
• Likes to be buried in the sand.

Manta Rays:

• Much larger than stingrays, they have triangular pectoral fins and cephalic lobes near their mouth.
• They are more often found in large open areas of the ocean. They do sometimes come to the coast as well but they typically prefer more open areas.
• They are filter feeders and swim with their mouths open.
• Their tails are very thin, short, and they do not have stingers.
• They migrate and are very social.

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Some easy ways to tell the difference between stingrays and manta rays:

• The easiest way is size. Stingrays are much smaller, usually 1-6 feet, and manta rays are huge reaching sizes of up to 23 feet across. 
• Stingrays are often sitting on the sea floor or in shallow areas, manta rays are usually in deeper ocean areas near reefs.
• Another good way is to look for the mouth. The mouth of a stingray is on the underside, designed for bottom feeding, and the mouth of a ray is on the front of their body and they are usually swimming with it wide open for filter feeding. So if you've got a huge fish swimming at you with its mouth wide open, odds are it's a manta ray. Here's a good image for visual with a manta ray on the left and a sting ray on the right:
  
• The above picture also helps you visualize the shape, you can see the sting rays are much rounder and the manta rays appear to have wings. 

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While neither species is aggressive, it is important to remember that stingrays, while not aggressive by nature, can become defensive, and use their tails to protect themselves and sting, especially if stepped on. Manta rays are generally very gentle, curious, and don't have a stinger to harm you with. Manta rays = ocean puppies, stingrays = spicy sand pancakes. 

Here are a few parting facts you might find interesting about both:

• Giant manta rays can grow up to 23 feet (7 meters) across.
• Stingrays often bury themselves in sand with only their eyes sticking out.
• Manta rays have the largest brain-to-body ratio of any fish. They show signs of intelligence, curiosity, and even self-awareness. Some researchers believe they may recognize themselves in mirrors.
• Despite their size, mantas eat tiny plankton.
• Stingrays eat clams, shrimp, worms, and small fish, and they use their powerful jaws to crush shells.
• Female mantas usually give birth to one pup at a time and sometimes only every 2–3 years.
• Stingrays are part of the cartilaginous fish family, meaning their skeletons are made of cartilage, not bone
• Manta rays can live 40–50 years, possibly longer.
• Stingrays can detect tiny electrical signals from prey hiding in the sand.
• Mantas are known to leap completely out of the ocean. Scientists aren’t 100% sure why but it could be possibly for communication, mating displays, or just showing off.
• Stingrays usually have between 2-6 pups at a time.
• The spot pattern on a manta ray’s belly is like a fingerprint with each one having a different one. Researchers use these patterns to identify individuals.

See you guys tomorrow for my snakehead blog~! I hope you enjoyed reading this one.