The occurrence of mobulid rays at St Helena Island, Cardno seamount and Bonaparte seamount in the South Atlantic and its significance for conservation

Abstract Data from 369 sightings of mobulid rays from St Helena Island, Cardno and Bonaparte seamounts in the South Atlantic are summarised. 50 % (183) of sightings were observed from a boat, 48 % (176) of sightings were encountered in water, of which 95 % (168) were whilst actively scuba diving. 2...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Marine Biodiversity Records
Main Authors: Beard, Annalea, Henry, Leeann, Cherrett, Samantha, Dove, Alistair D.M.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Springer Science and Business Media LLC 2021
Subjects:
Aquatic Science
Ecology
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Oceanography
Bonaparte
Helena Island
St. Helena
St. Helena Island
South Atlantic Ocean
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s41200-021-00214-8
https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s41200-021-00214-8.pdf
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s41200-021-00214-8/fulltext.html
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Summary:Abstract Data from 369 sightings of mobulid rays from St Helena Island, Cardno and Bonaparte seamounts in the South Atlantic are summarised. 50 % (183) of sightings were observed from a boat, 48 % (176) of sightings were encountered in water, of which 95 % (168) were whilst actively scuba diving. 2 % (10) of mobulid ray sightings were observed from land. Sightings data indicate that the Chilean devil ray Mobula tarapacana (Philippi, 1892) is a frequent visitor to St Helena and is present all year. We document the first photographic evidence of the presence of oceanic manta, Mobula birostris (Walbaum, 1792) at St Helena. Two solitary individuals were photographed off the north coast of St Helena in June 2018. These sightings confirm previous unverified reports on the species occurrence and extend the known distribution range of M. birostris in the open South Atlantic Ocean to 16°S.

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