0_Wizard
I swam with Manta rays once.  The are a large ray that belong to the genus Manta
Manta rays are large rays belonging to the genus "Manta".
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Manta ray
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Manta ray
Manta rays are large rays belonging to the genus "Manta". The larger species, "M. birostris", reaches in width while the smaller, "M. alfredi", reaches . Both have triangular pectoral fins, horn-shaped cephalic fins and large, forward-facing mouths. They are classified among the Myliobatiformes (stingrays and relatives) and are placed in the family Myliobatidae (eagle rays). Mantas are found in warm temperate, subtropical and tropical waters. Both species are pelagic; "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.
Manta ray night dive
A manta ray night dive is a scuba diving excursion to view manta rays. Depending on the amount of microscopic plankton present, the number of manta rays will vary. Some days no manta rays are seen while on days with high plankton levels upwards of a dozen may be present. While diving, scuba divers shine lights up while snorkelers shine them down creating a column of light which attracts millions of minuscule plankton, which in turn attracts the manta rays. A popular site is just off the coast of Hawaii Island called Garden Eel Cove, as well as the Kona Surf Hotel. Located just off the coast of Keahole Point (near the Kona International Airport), it attracts scuba divers for the abundance of manta rays.
Reef manta ray
The reef manta ray ("Manta alfredi") is a species of ray in the family Mobulidae, one of the largest rays in the world. Among generally recognized species, it is the second-largest species of ray, only surpassed by the giant oceanic manta ray (a currently unrecognized species from the Caribbean region also appears to be larger than the reef manta ray). The species was described in 1868 by Gerard Krefft, the director of the Australian Museum. He named it "M. alfredi" in honor of Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the first member of the British royal family to visit Australia. Reef manta rays are typically in disc width, with a maximum size of about .
Black Manta
Black Manta (David Hyde) is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in "Aquaman" #35 (September 1967) and is the archenemy of the superhero Aquaman. The character will make his cinematic debut in the James Wan's "Aquaman" film, portrayed by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. The character debuted in "Aquaman" #35 (September 1967) and was created by Bob Haney and Nick Cardy. Black Manta had no definitive origin story until #6 of the 1993 "Aquaman" series. In this origin, the boy who would become Black Manta grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, and loved to play by Chesapeake Bay.
List of threatened rays
Threatened rays are those vulnerable to endangerment (extinction) in the near future. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is the world’s oldest global environmental organization. It evaluates threatened species, and treats threatened species not as a single category, but as a group of three categories, depending on the degree to which they are threatened:  The term "threatened" strictly refers to these three categories (critically endangered, endangered and vulnerable), while "vulnerable" is used to refer to the least at risk of these categories. The terms can be used somewhat interchangeably, as all "vulnerable" species are threatened, all "endangered" species are vulnerable and threatened, and all "critically endangered" species are endangered, vulnerable and threatened.
Giant oceanic manta ray
The giant oceanic manta ray ("Manta birostris") is a species of ray in the family Mobulidae, and the largest type of ray in the world. They are circumglobal and are typically found in tropical and subtropical waters, but can also be found in temperate waters. The giant oceanic manta ray can grow to a disc size of up to across with a weight of about but average size commonly observed is . It is dorsoventrally flattened and has large, triangular pectoral fins on either side of the disc. At the front, it has a pair of cephalic fins which are forward extensions of the pectoral fins. These can be rolled up in a spiral for swimming or can be flared out to channel water into the large, forward-pointing, rectangular mouth when the animal is feeding.
Manta Trust
The Manta Trust is a UK-based charity that was formed in 2011 to co-ordinate global research and conservation efforts for manta rays, their close relatives and their habitat. As charismatic megafauna, manta rays act as a flagship species, helping to promote and engage the general public in the wider message of marine ecosystem conservation. Through this top down approach to conservation the manta ray becomes the catalyst for change, engaging and motivating the general public, governments and local communities alike. A UK Registered Charity, the Trust brings together a number of projects from around the globe, both new and long-standing, including the Republic of Maldives, Sri Lanka, Mexico and Indonesia.
1_Apprentice
That sounds amazing! Where did you do that and what was it like?
0_Wizard
It was on a vacation in Hawaii at the Garden Eel COve
A popular site is just off the coast of Hawaii Island called Garden Eel Cove, as well as the Kona Surf Hotel.
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Manta ray night dive
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Manta ray night dive
A manta ray night dive is a scuba diving excursion to view manta rays. Depending on the amount of microscopic plankton present, the number of manta rays will vary. Some days no manta rays are seen while on days with high plankton levels upwards of a dozen may be present. While diving, scuba divers shine lights up while snorkelers shine them down creating a column of light which attracts millions of minuscule plankton, which in turn attracts the manta rays. A popular site is just off the coast of Hawaii Island called Garden Eel Cove, as well as the Kona Surf Hotel. Located just off the coast of Keahole Point (near the Kona International Airport), it attracts scuba divers for the abundance of manta rays.
Heteroconger
Heteroconger is a genus of marine congrid eels. These small, slender garden eels live in groups where each individual has its own burrow. Usually, only the head and front half of the body is visible. The greatest species richness is in the Indo-Pacific, but species are also found in the warmer parts of the Atlantic (including the Caribbean) and the eastern Pacific. Its name relates to how a huge colony of the eels looks swaying in the current. The garden eel is roughly 40 cm (16 in) long. The eel has large eyes compared to its body, and a weak sense of smell because of its tiny nostrils. It is timid around other animals and people, but slightly aggressive towards other males of its species.
Spotted garden eel
The spotted garden eel ("Heteroconger hassi") is a heteroconger belonging to the family Congridae. It is native to the Indo-Pacific. The spotted garden eel is a small fish that can reach a maximum length of 40 cm. Its body is anguiform (eel-like): long, thin, with a circular cross-section (14 mm in average diameter) and a head of the same diameter as the body. The head appears shortened because the large mouth is close to the also large eyes. Nostrils are small and positioned in the center of the upper lip. The body is white and covered with many small black spots. The spotted garden eel has three larger distinctive black spots; the first identifies the gills opening and the position of the tiny pectoral fins, the second is located in the central part of the body and the third one surrounds the anus.
Gorgasia preclara
Gorgasia preclara, commonly called splendid garden eel or orange-barred garden eel, is a species of marine garden eel. The splendid garden eel is a medium-sized fish, up to 40 cm maximum length. Its body has a circular shape with a diameter of about 10 mm. Its body color is yellow to orange with characteristic white bands. "G. preclara" is widespread throughout the tropical waters of the Indo-West Pacific area from the Maldives to Indonesian archipelago and the Papua New Guinea and north to Ryukyu, Japanese archipelagos, and south to the Philippines. It occurs in sandy areas exposed to currents at depths between 18 and 75 m, but is usually observed at an average depth of 30 m.  The splendid garden eel lives in a buried tube in the sand either alone or in small groups.
Gilbert's garden eel
The Gilbert's garden eel ("Ariosoma gilberti"), also known as the Gilbert's conger and the sharpnose conger, is an eel in the family Congridae (conger/garden eels). It was described by James Douglas Ogilby in 1898, originally under the genus "Congrellus". It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from the eastern central and southeastern Pacific Ocean, including the Gulf of California, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and Colombia. It is a benthic and nocturnal species, and inhabits sand flats in reefs, bays and coves at a depth range of 1-100 metres.
Dotted garden eel
The Dotted Garden Eel ("Gorgasia punctata"), also known as the Peppered Garden Eel, is an eel in the family Congridae (conger/garden eels). It was described by Seth Eugene Meek and Samuel Frederick Hildebrand in 1923. It is a nonmigratory tropical, marine eel which is known from the eastern central Pacific Ocean, including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama. Males can reach a maximum total length of 50 cm. Due to the widespread distribution of the species, as well its lack of known threats and observed population declines, the IUCN redlist currently lists the dotted garden eel as Least Concern.
Brown garden eel
The brown garden eel ("Heteroconger longissimus"), also known simply as the garden eel, is an eel in the family Congridae (conger/garden eels). It was described by Albert Günther in 1870. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from the eastern and western Atlantic Ocean, including Madeira, the Canary Islands, Senegal, the Bahamas, the Florida Keys, Antilles, Yucatan, Belize, Honduras, and Brazil. It dwells at a depth of 10-60 m, most commonly between 20 and 60 m, and leads a nonmigratory, benthic lifestyle, inhabiting reefs in colonies. They likely spawn during the warm season. The larval state of development lasts for about 6-8 months.
1_Apprentice
You are so lucky to experience that. What are manta rays like - I've never seen one?
0_Wizard
The are really cool.  They have large mouths, horn fins and triangle shaped pectoral fins
Both have triangular pectoral fins, horn-shaped cephalic fins and large, forward-facing mouths.
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Manta ray
Manta rays are large rays belonging to the genus "Manta". The larger species, "M. birostris", reaches in width while the smaller, "M. alfredi", reaches . Both have triangular pectoral fins, horn-shaped cephalic fins and large, forward-facing mouths. They are classified among the Myliobatiformes (stingrays and relatives) and are placed in the family Myliobatidae (eagle rays). Mantas are found in warm temperate, subtropical and tropical waters. Both species are pelagic; "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.
Fish fin
Fins are usually the most distinctive anatomical features of a fish. They are composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body with skin covering them and joining them together, either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as seen in sharks. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the spine and are supported only by muscles. Their principal function is to help the fish swim. Fins located in different places on the fish serve different purposes such as moving forward, turning, keeping an upright position or stopping. Most fish use fins when swimming, flying fish use pectoral fins for gliding, and frogfish use them for crawling.
Fish locomotion
Fish locomotion is the variety of types of animal locomotion used by fish, principally by swimming. This however is achieved in different groups of fish by a variety of mechanisms of propulsion in water, most often by wavelike movements of the fish's body and tail, and in various specialised fish by movements of the fins. The major forms of locomotion in fish are anguilliform, in which a wave passes evenly along a long slender body; sub-carangiform, in which the wave increases quickly in amplitude towards the tail; carangiform, in which the wave is concentrated near the tail, which oscillates rapidly; thunniform, rapid swimming with a large powerful crescent-shaped tail; and ostraciiform, with almost no oscillation except of the tail fin.
Dragonet
Dragonets are small, perciform, marine fish of the diverse family Callionymidae (from the Greek "kallis", "beautiful" and "onyma", "name") found mainly in the tropical waters of the western Indo-Pacific. They are benthic organisms, spending most of their time near the sandy bottoms, at a depth of roughly two hundred meters. There exist 139 species of the fish, in nineteen genera. Due to similarities in morphology and behavior, dragonets are sometimes confused with members of the goby family. However, male dragonets can be differentiated from the goby by their very long dorsal fins, and females by their protruding lower jaws.
Fin
A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluid media. Fins are also used to increase surface areas for heat transfer purposes, or simply as ornamentation. Fins first evolved on fish as a means of locomotion. Fish fins are used to generate thrust and control the subsequent motion. Fish, and other aquatic animals such as cetaceans, actively propel and steer themselves with pectoral and tail fins. As they swim, they use other fins, such as dorsal and anal fins, to achieve stability and refine their maneuvering.
Silky shark
The silky shark ("Carcharhinus falciformis"), also known by numerous names such as blackspot shark, grey whaler shark, olive shark, ridgeback shark, sickle shark, sickle-shaped shark, and sickle silk shark, is a species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae, named for the smooth texture of its skin. It is one of the most abundant sharks in the pelagic zone, and can be found around the world in tropical waters. Highly mobile and migratory, this shark is most often found over the edge of the continental shelf down to . The silky shark has a slender, streamlined body and typically grows to a length of .
Horn shark
The horn shark ("Heterodontus francisci") is a species of bullhead shark, in the family Heterodontidae. It is endemic to the coastal waters off the western coast of North America, from California to the Gulf of California. Young sharks are segregated spatially from the adults, with the former preferring deeper sandy flats and the latter preferring shallower rocky reefs or algal beds. A small species typically measuring in length, the horn shark can be recognized by a short, blunt head with ridges over its eyes, two high dorsal fins with large spines, and a brown or gray coloration with many small dark spots.
1_Apprentice
Woah, sound a bit scary. But in a good way. Are they fierce creatures?
0_Wizard
Not really.  They spend most of their time feeding on plankton
They are filter feeders and eat large quantities of zooplankton, which they swallow with their open mouths as they swim.
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Plankton and Karen
Sheldon J. Plankton and Karen Plankton are fictional characters in the American animated television series "SpongeBob SquarePants". They are respectively voiced by Mr. Lawrence and Jill Talley. Their first appearance was in the episode "Plankton!" on July 31, 1999. They were created and designed by marine biologist and cartoonist Stephen Hillenburg, the creator of the program, along with Lawrence. Plankton is an intellectual planktonic copepod who runs the unsuccessful Chum Bucket restaurant alongside Karen, who is a talking supercomputer. Plankton is the arch-rival of Mr. Krabs, who owns the far more profitable Krusty Krab restaurant and sells a fictional burger called the Krabby Patty.
Forage fish
Forage fish, also called prey fish or bait fish, are small pelagic fish which are preyed on by larger predators for food. Predators include other larger fish, seabirds and marine mammals. Typical ocean forage fish feed near the base of the food chain on plankton, often by filter feeding. They include particularly fishes of the family Clupeidae (herrings, sardines, shad, hilsa, menhaden, anchovies and sprats), but also other small fish, including halfbeaks, silversides, smelt such as capelin, and the goldband fusiliers pictured on the right. Forage fish compensate for their small size by forming schools.
Pelagic fish
Pelagic fish live in the pelagic zone of ocean or lake waters – being neither close to the bottom nor near the shore – in contrast with demersal fish, which do live on or near the bottom, and reef fish, which are associated with coral reefs. The marine pelagic environment is the largest aquatic habitat on Earth, occupying 1,370 million cubic kilometres (330 million cubic miles), and is the habitat for 11% of known fish species. The oceans have a mean depth of 4000 metres. About 98% of the total water volume is below , and 75% is below . Marine pelagic fish can be divided into pelagic coastal fish and oceanic pelagic fish.
Plankton
Plankton (singular plankter) are the diverse collection of organisms that live in large bodies of water and are unable to swim against a current. They provide a crucial source of food to many large aquatic organisms, such as fish and whales. These organisms include bacteria, archaea, algae, protozoa and drifting or floating animals that inhabit—for example—the pelagic zone of oceans, seas, or bodies of fresh water. Essentially, plankton are defined by their ecological niche rather than any phylogenetic or taxonomic classification. Though many planktonic species are microscopic in size, "plankton" includes organisms over a wide range of sizes, including large organisms such as jellyfish.
Baleen whale
Baleen whales (systematic name Mysticeti), known earlier as whalebone whales, form a parvorder of the infraorder Cetacea (whales, dolphins and porpoises). They are a widely distributed and diverse parvorder of carnivorous marine mammals. Mysticeti comprise the families Balaenidae (right whales), Balaenopteridae (rorquals), Cetotheriidae (the pygmy right whale), and Eschrichtiidae (the gray whale). There are currently 15 species of baleen whale. While cetaceans were historically thought to have descended from mesonychids, (which would place them outside the order Artiodactyla), molecular evidence supports them as a clade of even-toed ungulates (Artiodactyla).
Shoaling and schooling
In biology, any group of fish that stay together for social reasons are shoaling (pronounced ), and if the group is swimming in the same direction in a coordinated manner, they are schooling (pronounced ). In common usage, the terms are sometimes used rather loosely. About one quarter of fish species shoal all their lives, and about one half shoal for part of their lives. Fish derive many benefits from shoaling behaviour including defence against predators (through better predator detection and by diluting the chance of individual capture), enhanced foraging success, and higher success in finding a mate.
Ecology of the San Francisco Estuary
The San Francisco Estuary together with the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta represents a highly altered ecosystem. The region has been heavily re-engineered to accommodate the needs of water delivery, shipping, agriculture, and most recently, suburban development. These needs have wrought direct changes in the movement of water and the nature of the landscape, and indirect changes from the introduction of non-native species. New species have altered the architecture of the food web as surely as levees have altered the landscape of islands and channels that form the complex system known as the Delta.
1_Apprentice
Well, that sounds pretty calm. Are they indigenous to Hawaii?
0_Wizard
No but I love going there.  There is so much to explore, because they have hundreds of islands spread over
The state encompasses nearly the entire volcanic Hawaiian archipelago, which comprises hundreds of islands spread over .
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Hawaii
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Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; ) is the 50th and most recent state to have joined the United States of America, having received statehood on August 21, 1959. Hawaii is the only U.S. state located in Oceania and the only one composed entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean. Hawaii is the only U.S. state located outside North America. The state encompasses nearly the entire volcanic Hawaiian archipelago, which comprises hundreds of islands spread over . At the southeastern end of the archipelago, the eight main islands are—in order from northwest to southeast: Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lānai, Kahoolawe, Maui, and the Island of Hawaii.
Maritime history of California
In the California coast, the use of ships and the Pacific Ocean has historically included water craft (such as dugouts, canoes, sailing ships, and steamships), fisheries, shipbuilding, Gold Rush shipping, ports, shipwrecks, naval ships and installations, and lighthouses. The maritime history of California can be divided into several periods: the Native American period; European exploration period from 1542 to 1769; the Spanish colonial period, 1769 to 1821; the Mexican period, 1821 to 1847; and United States statehood period, which continues to the present day. In the northwest coast of California near the redwood forests several Indian tribes developed large dugout canoes they used for fishing, trade and warfare.
Age of Discovery
The Age of Discovery, or the Age of Exploration (approximately from the beginning of the 15th century until the end of the 18th century) is an informal and loosely defined term for the period in European history in which extensive overseas exploration emerged as a powerful factor in European culture and was the beginning of globalization. It also marks the rise of the period of widespread adoption in Europe of colonialism and mercantilism as national policies. Many lands previously unknown to Europeans were discovered by them during this period, though most were already inhabited. From the perspective of many non-Europeans, the Age of Discovery marked the arrival of invaders from previously unknown continents.
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Karimata and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around . The sea carries tremendous strategic importance; one-third of the world's shipping passes through it carrying over $3 trillion in trade each year, it contains lucrative fisheries that are crucial for the food security of millions in Southeast Asia, and huge oil and gas reserves are believed to lie beneath its seabed. According to International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) "Limits of Oceans and Seas", 3rd edition (1953), it is located  However, in its unapproved draft 4th edition (1986), IHO proposed the Natuna Sea, thus the South China Sea southern boundary was shifted northward, from north of Bangka Belitung Islands to  The minute South China Sea Islands, collectively an archipelago, number in the hundreds.
List of Dutch inventions and discoveries
The Netherlands had a considerable part in the making of modern society. The Netherlands and its people have made numerous seminal contributions to the world's civilization, especially in art, science, technology and engineering, economics and finance, cartography and geography, exploration and navigation, law and jurisprudence, thought and philosophy, medicine, and agriculture. Dutch-speaking people, in spite of their relatively small number, have a significant history of invention, innovation, discovery and exploration. The following list is composed of objects, (largely) unknown lands, breakthrough ideas/concepts, principles, phenomena, processes, methods, techniques, styles etc., that were discovered or invented (or pioneered) by people from the Netherlands and Dutch-speaking people from the former Southern Netherlands ("Zuid-Nederlanders" in Dutch).
Cook Islands
The Cook Islands (; Cook Islands Māori: "Kūki 'Āirani") is a self-governing island country in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand. It comprises 15 islands whose total land area is . The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers of ocean. New Zealand is responsible for the Cook Islands' defence and foreign affairs, but they are exercised in consultation with the Cook Islands. In recent times, the Cook Islands have adopted an increasingly independent foreign policy. Although Cook Islanders are citizens of New Zealand, they have the status of Cook Islands nationals, which is not given to other New Zealand citizens.
Pacific Proving Grounds
The Pacific Proving Grounds was the name given by the United States government to a number of sites in the Marshall Islands and a few other sites in the Pacific Ocean at which it conducted nuclear testing between 1946 and 1962. The U.S. tested a nuclear weapon (codenamed Able) on Bikini Atoll on 30 June 1946. This was followed by Baker on July 24, 1946. On July 18, 1947, the United States secured an agreement with the United Nations to govern the islands of Micronesia as the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, a strategic trusteeship territory. This is the only such trusteeship ever granted by the United Nations.