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Stewart's team confirmed the area as a nursery by comparing the young mantas' use of the Flower Garden Banks habitat to known indicators of shark and ray nurseries. They found that roughly 95 percent of the mantas visiting Flower Garden Banks were juveniles. Browse 1,689 manta ray videos and clips available to use in your projects, or search for giant manta ray or manta ray maldives to find more footage and b-roll video clips. Browse 1,689 manta ray videos and clips available to use in your projects, or search for giant manta ray or manta ray maldives to find more footage and b-roll video clips. The scientists used the unique markings on the undersides of the rays to identify them, much like matching human fingerprints. The team combed through 25 years' worth of dive logs and photographs collected by the sanctuary's staff divers, according to a statement released by Scripps.
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Noting the rarity of this sighting, Stewart teamed up with sanctuary staff to determine whether this spot really was highly frequented by the little rays. Browse 1,689 manta ray videos and clips available to use in your projects, or search for giant manta ray or manta ray maldives to find more footage and b-roll video clips.
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Biologist Joshua Stewart, a doctoral candidate at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego, noticed several juvenile mantas ( Mobula birostris) while conducting research at Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of the Texas-Louisiana border.
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