Mystery Monday Challenge Answer

Sightings of mobula rays on Searcher trips elicit either guffaws or gasps. We see them leaping high into the air, doing belly flops or back flips – which score the laughter. Or, on more rare occasions as in this video clip, they can be seen coming up into Searcher‘s deck lights from the inky black to feed on zooplankton in large schools – which evoke the sounds of awe.

The most common species in the Gulf of California is the smoothtail (or bentfin) mobula, which grows up to about 6 feet across. Mostly the males do the jumping, but females get into the “fun” also. While scientists don’t know for sure why they leap like they do, it’s starting to emerge that it’s part of their courtship ritual, but parasite removal and communication have also been suggested as possible explanations (all three of which are also why whales breach). – Paul Jones