The Smartest Fish in the Sea
This is actually a Lesser Guinean Devil Ray, which is a very close and much smaller cousin the manta ray. Unfortunately I couldn’t find any vintage naturalist drawings of mantas.
When we think of smart animals, we generally don’t think of fish. Recently however we humans are learning that fish have a lot more brain power then we once thought. One fish in particular is swimming out above the rest. Oh, and they’re also mythical looking creatures that fly through the water on 25 foot long wings. Find out how their brains are surprising us, how we think they got so smart, and why they need our help. This fish is called a manta ray.
Sources:
Mantas:
Mobulid Rays Brain Structure Study
Social Manta Ray Cleaning Parties
WildAid Manta Ray Report on Gill Raker Trade
Manta Rays and Chinese Traditional Medicine
Indonesia Creates Manta Sanctuary
WildAid Report on Global Manta Threats
Ebert, D. A. (2003). Sharks, Rays and Chimaeras of California. University of California Press. pp. 230–233. ISBN 0-520-22265-2.
Other Animals:
Orangutans and Animal Intelligence
Other: