The Giant Manta Rays of Thailand

Hanging with the giant manta rays of Thailand's Koh Bon, Hin Daeng and Richelieu Rock.

Huge thanks to Solidtrax for the music, "Are We Dreaming". Find them at http://soundcloud.com/solidtrax and https://twitter.com/Solidtrax

As always, it looks best at 720p HD in a big window or full screen.

All feedback welcome!

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Love the Manta induced wipe at the end! ;-) Great video Nick!

Good stuff Nick, those look more like pelagics rather than reef mantas. Is that the case? Some look quite large.

Good stuff Nick, those look more like pelagics rather than reef mantas. Is that the case? Some look quite large.

I never got that confirmed but it was always my suspicion as well, really big guys, with loads of big pilot-fish/remoras sometimes also with lots of cobias, here in Bali we have big (4-5m wingspan) mantas as well, but never with remoras, cobias etc.

Maybe some of you critter-crazy people out there can help on this one?

I never got that confirmed but it was always my suspicion as well, really big guys, with loads of big pilot-fish/remoras sometimes also with lots of cobias, here in Bali we have big (4-5m wingspan) mantas as well, but never with remoras, cobias etc.

 

Maybe some of you critter-crazy people out there can help on this one?

In Raja its even stranger: at Manta Sandy its reef mantas, over at Blue Magic, less than 20km away, they are the pelagic variety..

Interesting

Yup that's a Birostris. The black mouth area and all white "chest" area between the gills, the parallel shoulder patch says it all. Alfredi are white/gray mouths and that white spot over the spiracle. Thanks to Manta Chick and Queen Manta for teaching me the difference!

Thanks guys. These are all Manta birostris. I've never seen Manta alfredi in the Andaman Sea. The ones I've shot at Manta Point in Bali were Manta alfredi. The surest way to tell the difference is that M. birostris has a stump just behind it's dorsal fin, the remains of an old spine. M. alfredi doesn't have it.

Haha, awesome, thanks!

One can always be sure to get some seriously geeky people answering in a flash on this forum!

It makes sense that the Bali ones are "reef-mantas", have seen the same individuals there over and over again for the last couple of years, either they are reef mantas or maybe just seriously lazy pelagics!

Anyways, thanks a bunch for the info!

Nice one Nick. We had the pleasure of diving Hin Daeng and Hin Muang a few months after the Tsunami and they are amazing dive sites if a little remote for day boats (especially when you are left in the water for over an hour drifting off towards Malayisa, but hey that is another story!).

We saw some big Mantas there too, but at a distance. God I love Mantas!

Cheers, Simon

great vid