Manta is one of the most strange fish in the sea, as the horny face fins and diamond -shaped body can grow almost 30 feet. However, the most mysterious feature of these giants is a whip -like tail that can be measured as long as the remaining part of the fish.
The reason why the rays related to the manta have such a long tail have been a mystery for a long time. Fish do not use tails to promote through water or assault to potential predators. In addition, Sting Raytail has a terrible reputation for fatal stab wounds, but manta's tail is completely defensive thorns.
Instead, these elongated tails can act as a fine -tuned antenna specialized to detect approaching dangers. On Wednesday, a pair of researchers, a pair of researchers, were analyzed the tail belonging to the rays of Caurus, a small parent of manta, in a paper published in the minutes of biological science. They discover that this elongated structure contains special organs that help sensing underwater stimulation, and suggests how other ocean rays use the values of the rear. 。
“The complexity inside the tail was very surprising,” said Julia Chamel, a marine biologist at Harvard University and the author of the dissertation. “I didn't think this huge structure has a sensory function.”
Most Stingray species are near the seabed, but in the order of MyLIOBATID, the manta and other rays spend most of the time open. These fish flutter with an enlarged triangular pachrot, pass through water, and move over long distances.
According to Matt Ajemian, a researcher at Florida Atlantic University, which is studying sharks and light, most stingrays have short muscle tails used to bend poison rods. However, the rays of MyLIOBATID have a very different back side.
“When you pick it up, it's almost like a huge noodle, but the underwater is very strict,” said Dr. Ajemian, who was not involved in a new research. “Nobody really had a clue to what these tails were used for.”
To understand this anatomical characteristics, Dr. CHAUMEL and her colleague George Lauder examined the tail of Cownose Rays, a type of sturdy sting with double nose. They analyzed some pickles specimens in the collection of the Harvard University Comparative Museum. They also acquired two light rays that have recently died. They created a three -dimensional micro CT scan and cut a thin slice to study the organizational structure.
The team discovered that the hard tissue of the Caurus tail was covered with a hole. The 3D scan has revealed that these holes are linked to the outer line of the fish. This is a sensory organs system found in fish and amphibians. The outer line runs the body length of the fish, connected to the receptor of the fish, to detect the surrounding water movement.
For most aquatic vertebrates, the outer line is the most complicated near the head of the fish and is more rational as approaching the animal tail. However, in stork, more complex systems ran the tail length, branched and connected to the pores of the fish skin.
The team assumes that this network is useful for the ray's tail to identify the surrounding water stimulus. This is especially useful when the rays of Caurus descend on the seabed and dig a hole with a vacuum cleaner. When they bury their heads in the sand, the rays are exposed to predators.
If the fine -tuned antenna protrudes from the back, the rays will help detect trouble before it is too late. “When sharks come in from behind, these huge water movements are caused, and Ray is informing him that the time has expanded,” said Dr. Chamel.
Dr. Ajemian agrees that the Cownose Rays tail functions as an antenna is plausible. “We thought we could easily take off the tail,” he said.
Dr. Chaumel believes that tails have more than just early warnings. Her team analyzes other species, including the manta, to see if these structures can help stabilize these fish when swimming like a Kit tail.