{"id":9148,"date":"2024-05-09T10:35:36","date_gmt":"2024-05-09T14:35:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mote.org\/?post_type=program&#038;p=9148"},"modified":"2024-06-13T18:44:39","modified_gmt":"2024-06-13T22:44:39","slug":"ray-sightings","status":"publish","type":"program","link":"https:\/\/mote.org\/research\/program\/sharks-rays-conservation-research\/ray-sightings\/","title":{"rendered":"Report Ray Sightings"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Since 2009, Mote Researchers have been collecting data on three pelagic ray species: spotted eagle rays, manta rays and devil rays. All three are classified as \u201cEndangered\u201d on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. Understanding their distribution and movement patterns in the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea and Western Atlantic Ocean is critical to inform conservation strategies.<\/p>\n<p>Citizen science initiatives (when the public collects and reports data to researchers) can provide valuable information, especially on rare species such as manta rays and devil rays.<\/p>\n<p>Have you seen any of these rays? Submit your sightings through our reporting forms. If you have any questions, please <a href=\"\/research\/program\/sharks-rays-conservation-research\/ray-sightings\/#contactus\">contact us<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Spotted eagle ray<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11346 alignright lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 500px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 500\/250;letter-spacing: 0.32px;\" data-src=\"https:\/\/mote.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/SpottedEagleRays__Ray_reporting_form_image_combos-1024x512.png\" alt=\"Two images of spotted eagle rays\" width=\"500\" height=\"250\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/mote.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/SpottedEagleRays__Ray_reporting_form_image_combos-1024x512.png 1024w, https:\/\/mote.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/SpottedEagleRays__Ray_reporting_form_image_combos-300x150.png 300w, https:\/\/mote.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/SpottedEagleRays__Ray_reporting_form_image_combos-768x384.png 768w, https:\/\/mote.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/SpottedEagleRays__Ray_reporting_form_image_combos-1536x768.png 1536w, https:\/\/mote.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/SpottedEagleRays__Ray_reporting_form_image_combos-2048x1024.png 2048w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Small (2 ft) to large (7 ft) across wing tips<\/li>\n<li>Dark brown with white spots<\/li>\n<li>Duck\u2019s bill head<\/li>\n<li>Single individuals or in groups<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><a class=\"btn btn-secondary\" href=\"https:\/\/airtable.com\/embed\/appL0NECV0pQFJElj\/shrKTuS1uy2hFIKKp?backgroundColor=teal\">Report a spotted eagle ray sighting<\/a><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: left;\">Devil ray<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11344 alignright lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 500px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 500\/250;letter-spacing: 0.32px;\" data-src=\"https:\/\/mote.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/DevilRays__Ray_reporting_form_image_combos2-1024x512.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"250\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/mote.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/DevilRays__Ray_reporting_form_image_combos2-1024x512.png 1024w, https:\/\/mote.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/DevilRays__Ray_reporting_form_image_combos2-300x150.png 300w, https:\/\/mote.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/DevilRays__Ray_reporting_form_image_combos2-768x384.png 768w, https:\/\/mote.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/DevilRays__Ray_reporting_form_image_combos2-1536x768.png 1536w, https:\/\/mote.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/DevilRays__Ray_reporting_form_image_combos2-2048x1024.png 2048w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Small (2-4 ft) across wing tips<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 1.6rem; letter-spacing: 0.32px;\">Very dark, no spots<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Cephalic fins (rolled in \u201chorns\u201d or unrolled and forming a funnel)<\/li>\n<li>Mostly in groups<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><a class=\"btn btn-secondary\" href=\"https:\/\/airtable.com\/appL0NECV0pQFJElj\/shr9E83lAw8WjfDXz\">Report a devil ray sighting<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Manta ray<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11345 alignright lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/mote.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/MantaRays__Ray_reporting_form_image_combos3_1-1024x512.png\" alt=\"Two images of manta rays\" width=\"500\" height=\"250\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/mote.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/MantaRays__Ray_reporting_form_image_combos3_1-1024x512.png 1024w, https:\/\/mote.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/MantaRays__Ray_reporting_form_image_combos3_1-300x150.png 300w, https:\/\/mote.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/MantaRays__Ray_reporting_form_image_combos3_1-768x384.png 768w, https:\/\/mote.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/MantaRays__Ray_reporting_form_image_combos3_1-1536x768.png 1536w, https:\/\/mote.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/MantaRays__Ray_reporting_form_image_combos3_1-2048x1024.png 2048w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 500px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 500\/250;\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Large (6-20 ft) across wing tips<\/li>\n<li>Dark with large white patches<\/li>\n<li>Cephalic fins (rolled in \u201chorns\u201d or unrolled like a funnel)<\/li>\n<li>Mostly single individuals<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><a class=\"btn btn-secondary\" href=\"https:\/\/airtable.com\/appL0NECV0pQFJElj\/shr7F4WMaudzKuZWY\">Report a manta ray sighting<\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><a name=\"contactus\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Questions?<\/h2>\n<div class=\"row \"><div class=\"col-6 col-md-6 col-xl-6\"><p>For questions about Mote&#8217;s ray research, contact Mote Senior Biologist Kim Bassos-Hull: <a href=\"mailto:kbhull@mote.org\">kbhull@mote.org<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Should you encounter any problems with the forms, please email us: <a href=\"mailto:rayreports@mote.org\">rayreports@mote.org<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-6 col-md-6 col-xl-6\"><figure id=\"attachment_3959\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3959\" style=\"width: 150px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-3959 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/mote.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/c0871d99-b77b-4646-9c52-c16dc008acd5_lg-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"Portrait of Kim Bassos-Hull, standing in front of the bay.\" width=\"150\" height=\"225\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/mote.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/c0871d99-b77b-4646-9c52-c16dc008acd5_lg-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/mote.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/c0871d99-b77b-4646-9c52-c16dc008acd5_lg-768x1154.jpg 768w, https:\/\/mote.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/c0871d99-b77b-4646-9c52-c16dc008acd5_lg-681x1024.jpg 681w, https:\/\/mote.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/c0871d99-b77b-4646-9c52-c16dc008acd5_lg-1022x1536.jpg 1022w, https:\/\/mote.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/c0871d99-b77b-4646-9c52-c16dc008acd5_lg.jpg 1264w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 150px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 150\/225;\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3959\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kim Bassos-Hull kbhull@mote.org<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":4318,"parent":1516,"menu_order":0,"template":"","areas-of-research":[],"research-program-type":[],"class_list":["post-9148","program","type-program","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Report Ray Sightings | Mote Marine Laboratory &amp; Aquarium<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mote.org\/research\/program\/sharks-rays-conservation-research\/ray-sightings\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Report Ray Sightings | Mote Marine Laboratory &amp; 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