First report of a Giant manta ray, Mobula birostris (Walbaum 1792), foetus from Kochi, Kerala, India

Nair, Rekha J and Vishnu Nair, M S and Sunil, K T S and Vishnupriya, K M and Sangeetha, A T and Pakkri Muthu, S (2023) First report of a Giant manta ray, Mobula birostris (Walbaum 1792), foetus from Kochi, Kerala, India. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of India, 65 (2). pp. 105-108. ISSN 2321-7898

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Abstract

With information on the Giant Manta Ray scanty, a record of morphological and morphometric data on Mobula foetus from this region is very important. The disc length (DL) of the foetus recorded in Kochi was only 30 mm and the foetus already had pigmentation patterns in the ventral portion of the cephalic hom and displayed the presence of an umbilical attachment. This data reinforces the importance of the west coast as a potential reproduction ground for M. birostris and is crucial for the establishment and progression of conservation measures for this migratory species.

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