Manta ray

Photo: Programa Marino del Golfo de California · CC BY-NC

Reef manta rays visit the cleaning stations on Nosy Mitsio's exposed pinnacles May through October, circling in stacked queues as wrasses and angelfish remove parasites from their gills and skin. With a wingspan reaching 5 metres, reef mantas are the smaller of the two manta species — distinguished from oceanic mantas by shoulder patches rather than uniform dark backs. Individual rays are identified by researchers via unique ventral spot patterns and contribute to a population tracked across the western Indian Ocean.