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.