Manta rays are large eagle rays belonging to the genus Manta. The larger species, M. birostris, reaches 7 m (23 ft) in width while the smaller, M. alfredi (pictured), reaches 5.5 m (18 ft). Both have triangular pectoral fins, horn-shaped cephalic fins and large, forward-facing mouths. Mantas can be found in temperate, subtropical and tropical waters. M. birostris migrates across open oceans, singly or in groups, while M. alfredi tends to be resident and coastal. They are filter feeders and eat large quantities of zooplankton, which they swallow with their open mouths as they swim. Gestation lasts over a year, producing live pups. Mantas may visit cleaning stations for the removal of parasites. Like whales, they breach, for unknown reasons. Both species are listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Threats include pollution, entanglement in fishing nets, and direct harvesting for their gill rakers for use in Chinese medicine, and their slow reproductive rate exacerbates these threats. Only a few aquariums are large enough to house them. In general, these large fish are seldom seen and difficult to study.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manta_ray

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1302:

Byzantine–Ottoman Wars: The Ottoman sultanate scored its first major victory against the Byzantine Empire in the Battle of Bapheus in Bithynia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bapheus

1789:

The U.S. State Department, then known as the Department of Foreign Affairs, became the first federal agency created under the U.S. Constitution. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_State

1794:

The National Convention ordered the arrest and execution of Reign of Terror leader Maximilien Robespierre after he encouraged the execution of more than 17,000 "enemies of the French Revolution". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermidorian_Reaction

1914:

Felix Manalo established the modern-day Iglesia ni Cristo religion, an independent, nontrinitarian Christian church, in the Philippines (Iglesia ni Cristo Central Temple pictured). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iglesia_ni_Cristo

1940:

Bugs Bunny debuted in the animated cartoon A Wild Hare. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bugs_Bunny

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

portend: 1. (transitive) To serve as a warning or omen. 2. (transitive) To signify; to denote. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/portend

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

 Triumphal arch, that fill'st the sky When storms prepare to part, I ask not proud Philosophy To teach me what thou art. — Still seem, as to my childhood's sight, A midway station given, For happy spirits to alight, Betwixt the earth and heaven.   --Thomas Campbell https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thomas_Campbell_(poet)