Largest Known Marine Stingray Study | National Geographic

Due to the elusive nature of these fish, very little is known about their ecology and behavior. ➡ Subscribe: http://bit.ly/NatGeoSubscribe About National Geographic: National Geographic is the world's premium destination for science, exploration, and adventure. Through their world-class scientists, photographers, journalists, and filmmakers, Nat Geo gets you closer to the stories that matter and past the edge of what's possible. Get More National Geographic: Official Site: http://bit.ly/NatGeoOfficialSite Facebook: http://bit.ly/FBNatGeo Twitter: http://bit.ly/NatGeoTwitter Instagram: http://bit.ly/NatGeoInsta This smalleye stingray is the largest marine stingray on record. Due to the elusive nature of these stingrays, scientists know very little about their ecology and behavior. This footage was captured off the coast of Mozambique, which is a popular dive spot for recreational scuba divers. Scientists put out a call for all tourists who have filmed or photographed this species to send in their photos for data collection. Through crowd-sourcing, they were able to come out with the first study on the world’s largest marine stingray. By identifying spot patterns on the back, they were able to track surprisingly long migration patterns. They proved to have the longest straight-line distance ever recorded by a stingray of the whiptail family. Because of the limited data, their conservation status is unknown. But scientists hypothesize that their numbers are low and hope that this new study will help to protect the species. Read more in "The ocean's largest, rarest stingray revealed in new video" https://on.natgeo.com/2INkgkW Largest Known Marine Stingray Study | National Geographic https://youtu.be/iLTvGBIyRrY National Geographic https://www.youtube.com/natgeo