Manta
Ray, The Giant of Of Ocean Not Harmful
This stingray,
unlike the stingrays you imagine. Moreover, if you consider it a poisonous
and deadly animal, causing a biologist and world-renowned wildlife host , who came
from Australia, died of the sting. This is not that stingray. The
figure is always sought by the scuba
diving enthusiasts , to be enjoyed or even perpetuated
its beauty. Stingrays Ghost, or commonly known as Pari Manta, the name of
the fish.
Manta
rays (Manta birostris) is one
of the largest stingray species in the world. The width of his body from
the tip of the pectoral fin to the tip of the other fin reaches nearly 6-8
meters (possibly more because there are reports that there is a manta whose
body width reaches 9.1 meters). The heaviest weight of manta itself ever
measured reached about 3 tons.
Manta rays are also not a toxic stingray, its tail does not have a
sting like most other stingrays. This fish is later categorized as
" near threatened" by the IUCN, because
although the number is not yet endangered category, but in the future
population is estimated to shrink until finally threatened with
extinction. The manta ray population is considered close to the danger due
to the high fishing activities and increasingly polluted marine conditions,
while their birth cycles are low. In addition, rumors mentioning manta
rays can be very beneficial to cosmetics, causing manta ray hunting is still
intensively conducted in several places, including in Indonesia.
Manta
can be found in tropical waters around the world - approximately between 35 ° north
latitude to 35 ° latitude south. Its wide spread and
unique appearance cause these fish to have many names ranging from
"Pacific manta", "manta atlantica", "devil fish",
to "sea devil". In Indonesia itself, manta rays have a variety
of local names such as cawang necklaces, plampangan, and buffalo rays (probably
because the horn-like body parts in his head so he is considered similar to a
buffalo, and called a ghost because of his large body, thus covering the
sunlight into the sea) .
Characteristic
manta is a pair of "horns" near his mouth. This "horn"
is actually a pair of cephalal (head) fins that help to insert seawater
containing its food plankton and can be bent into the mouth. Inside its
mouth there are also 300 small tooth-shaped pegs and almost hidden under the
skin. This tooth is not used for eating, but this tooth is useful when
manta do marriage. Manta also has five pairs of gill slits in the lower part
of his body to remove water coming in through his mouth. Inside the gap
there is a gill screen or a filter plate that serves to trap the
plankton that enters along with the sea water. The food of the manta rays
is plankton. In a day he can suck plankton to a count of tons.
The support of
local governments in protecting the manta rays, is also very influential. Evidently,
in the last six months, the two largest marine tourism destinations in
Indonesia, Raja Ampat and West Manggarai (one of the districts in Komodo
National Park) have committed to better manage sharks and manta rays in their
waters. Even the Raja Ampat District Government has issued Local
Regulation No.9 of 2012 on the prohibition of catching sharks, manta rays, and
certain types of fish. While the West Manggarai District Government, in
the near future committed to issue a Regent Regulation about the conservation
area for sharks and manta rays. It is hoped that the protection of these
endangered marine animals remains consistent and sustainable.
