Devil rays

They belong to a group of batoid-like rays.

So they're within their own sort of family or subfamily, which is the mobula dei.

There are 10 species of mantas and devil rays, and they sit within the batoid rays.

So all of the sort of diamond-shaped rays that you might be familiar with, whether those are the cow nose rays, there's bat rays, and obviously the mantas, devil rays, eagle rays, And they sit within the broader group of rays and skates.

And those are often because there's some more traditional fishery that's always fished for these large animals.

There's obviously the demand for the gill plates that can incentivize these targeted fisheries.

And then there are net fisheries that go out and specifically catch mobulants because they are a product that is consumed locally in many countries that is a valued fish catch.

But the majority, you're right, are bycatch where the the focal species, the most valued species that the fishermen are going after is not the manta or the devil, right? It's usually tuna or sharks or, you know, sailfish, something else that's more valuable.

First, it's just like the di- the dive behavior, so they actually dive very deep.

Based on our tag, I think it, they dive for about, like I can't remember the exact, but I think, like it's 400, but I think it's the deepest after the mobula ray, the devil ray.

We also understand about their, um, preference.

So d- during the daytime, they, they spend on the deeper level, and then during the nighttime, they, they spend on the shallower level.