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PS - Laura, my thoughts were exactly the same as yours, that's why i sent Andrea the pic. The grey margin is not a defining feature of M.b, by the way, just often observed.
Hi Laura, I shall cut and paste from an e-mail from Dr Andrea Marshall:
"It is an alfredi. They can also have darkish colours around the face but if you looked on the inside of their month it would be white. This obviously does not include the black alfredi but at least for the normal colour ones it would be. Not sure why some have darker faces than others perhaps its mom was a melanistic manta! At least you know for sure now!!!"
It's Reef manta, or Manta alfredi, as described in 2009 by Dr Andrea Marshall Director and Lead Scientist - Manta Rays at the Marine Megafauna Foundation, Manta Ray & Whale Shark Research Centre
Tofo Beach, Inhambane, Mozambique.
Catalinlenci, this manta has some interesting markings for a birostris, notable the black marks between its gill slits. Where off West Papua was this taken, and do you have any other images of a different angle of the same manta (i.e from overhead or front on)? If so, i'd be interested in seeing them and passing them on to some friends of mine who are manta research scientitsts.
