New Manta Ray Species Discovered, Expert Says

What scientists call the manta ray is actually at least two distinct species with unique behaviors and lifestyles, a scientist announced recently.

Little is known about a second, larger species that avoids contact with humans and seems to have wider migration patterns. It also has evolutionary remnants of a spine and a harmless, nonstinging barb on its tail.

Manta rays are graceful giants in the ray family that can weigh over 4,400 pounds (2,000 kilograms).

The smaller rays—familiar to divers in Hawaii, the Maldives, Mozambique, Australia, and Japan—are year-round residents of certain marine spots, such as coral reefs.

Scientists suspect the larger, more mysterious, rays are highly migratory animals that wander the world's seas.