Study co-authors collect measurements from a specimen that would confirm the species’ discovery – credit – Bethany Augliere, released via Marine Megafauna Foundation

Usually when scientists announce the discovery of a new species, it’s some small brown frog, a gnarly spider in a rainforest you’ll never visit, or a new sea-something.

But Earth still has some curveballs to throw at us—like a new species of manta ray, just the third known in the world.

These large fish belong to the suborder Elasmobranchii, which contains sharks, rays, and skates. Graceful and curious, the genus was thought to just contain two species: the giant oceanic manta (Mobula birostris) and the reef manta (Mobula alfredi).

Dr. Andrea Marshall is the world’s foremost expert on manta rays, and has spent over a dozen years diving with and photographing them. In 2009, it was a landmark paper of her observations that brought about the first separation between the giant and reef mantas, as they had previously been thought to be the same.

At the same time she predicted a third might exist. Since then, she has hand-drawn rays in minute detail from countless photographs, until she could practically differentiate the two species while blindfolded.

So when she was diving with manta rays in Mexico, and a specimen appeared that looked like neither, she knew her prediction had come true. Now she just had to prove it.

“It had taken me 6 years to differentiate the first two species and I knew them inside out at this stage: this manta didn’t look like either of them,” Dr. Marshall said in a statement announcing the discovery on the website of her conservation nonprofit, the Marine Megafauna Foundation.

Dr. Andrea Marshall the first person to ever receive a PhD on manta rays – credit, released via Marine Megafauna Foundation

Mobula yarae, named after a mythical mermaid-like figure from Brazilian mythology, can grow as large as 16-20 feet in length—as much as the giant oceanic manta, but so far Dr. Marshall and colleagues have only observed juveniles.

Between 2010 and 2017, she was mostly working with still images trying to detect the differences between this mysterious third manta and the two she knew so well. That period of study ended when a dead individual washed up on a beach, and genetic testing was able to confirm the existence of a third manta.

In the study published on the discovery in the journal Environmental Biology of Fishes, Marshall and co-authors share some photographs showing the clear differentiating marks between the three species. M. yarae shows distinct grey wing tips, and a strong, fat, ‘V’ shape on its shoulders.

The other two species have the same markings but to different intensities and placements. Underbelly spots were important as well for identification.

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“In 2009, it was one of the largest species discoveries of the last 50 years. It was huge for me as an early career scientist and such a privilege to go through every step of the process. Did I ever expect to do something like that again? Hell no. Not a chance,” Dr. Marshall said on her Instagram. “So it was one of the shocks of my life to jump into the warm waters off the Yucatán in Mexico about a year later and come face to face with what I instantly knew was a third species of manta ray.”

Photo credits – Leo Francini a; Guy Stevens Manta Trust b, e; Rawany Porfilho c; Mauricio Andrade d; and Nayara Bucair f

The discovery of the M yarae, or the Atlantic manta offers scientists a rare glimpse into evolution in action. As one of the most recently evolved lineages of sharks and rays, manta rays provide a window into ongoing speciation, with genetic evidence suggesting M. yarae diverged relatively recently from other manta ray species.

“We’re probably still watching speciation occur!” study co-author Jessica Pate said in the statement. “This species has very recently evolved from the giant manta—it’s rare to see a new species like this, and even rarer to watch the process behind it.”

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The relatively recent divergence makes the M. yarae particularly valuable for understanding how large marine species adapt and evolve. The species represents evolution in motion, providing insights into the processes that drive biodiversity in marine environments.

“Kids often ask me if, in this day and age, there is really anything left to discover,” wrote Dr. Marshall on Instagram. “I always laugh and end up telling my story, because I am living proof that there is. The only barrier we face is being close-minded and assuming we know it all, when in fact we have barely scratched the surface.”

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