Very Rare Pink Manta Ray Photographed Swimming Near the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, Baffles Scientists

Very Rare Pink Manta Ray Photographed Swimming Near the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, Baffles Scientists
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2/17/2020
Updated:
2/17/2020

“Inspector Clouseau,” the only known pink-hued manta ray in existence, has been pictured swimming in the shallow waters near Australia’s southern Great Barrier Reef.

While swimming, photographer Kristian Laine snapped the 11-foot male ray close up in January 2020. Laine, surprised by the ray’s unique coloring, initially thought that his camera equipment had malfunctioned.

“At first I was very confused,” Laine explained to Australian Geographic. “I actually thought my strobes were playing up.”

At first, the pink ray was shrouded by seven other male manta rays, all embroiled in an elaborate courtship ritual with a female. During the antics, Inspector Clouseau in his rose-pink glory became visible, and Laine captured several stunning photographs.

The seven additional male rays making up the squadron boasted dark backs and pale white underbellies, a coloring known as “countershading” that serves as camouflage when the ray is viewed from above or below.

Inspector Clouseau was first identified in the shallows off Australia’s Lady Elliot Island in late 2015 and was named after the detective in the “Pink Panther” films. As per ABC News, it was dive instructor Ryan Jeffery who snapped the first photos of the rare rose-pink ray.
“I came across this strange looking one, it had strange shading underneath,” Jeffery had told ABC. “It was very interactive with me, so it hung around with me for about 30 minutes.

“I’ve been diving out there for five years,” Jeffery continued. “For the last few days I’ve been out there in the same spot, hoping to see him again, but yet he hasn’t made another appearance.”

According to National Geographic, as of February 2020, there have been fewer than 10 recorded sightings of Inspector Clouseau. “I feel humbled and extremely lucky,” said Laine, after coming face to face with the pink ray and the squadron of seven.
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©Shutterstock | Aaronejbull87

Lead scientist of the University of Queensland’s Project Manta, Dr. Kathy Townsend led the team concerned with identifying the cause of Inspector Clouseau’s pink skin color. They hoped to discern the cause by process of elimination after the pink ray’s initial discovery in 2015.

“[W]e’ve never seen anything like [it] in Australia before,” said Townsend, as per ABC, “so it’s been a very curious thing.”

“Often when sharks and rays are stressed they will get that sort of pinkish color to their underbelly or to their whiter parts,” Townsend continued, “[however] when I spoke to Ryan [the dive instructor] about it, he said the animal was really quite relaxed.”

Townsend initially concluded that “skin infection” was the group’s “greatest educated guess.”

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©Shutterstock | divedog
As per National Geographic, Project Manta researcher Amelia Armstrong took a skin biopsy from Inspector Clouseau in 2016. The results garnered ruled out both diet and infection as causes for the ray’s pink tint.
While flamingos can attribute their instantly recognizable pink feathers to their consumption of red shrimp, manta rays are filter feeders, consuming both zooplankton and coral spawn, as per Forbes. However, the natural pink dye found in red shrimp, canthaxanthin, is not present in the manta ray’s diet.
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©Shutterstock | John Michael Vosloo
Guy Stevens, CEO and co-founder of the United Kingdom’s Manta Trust, explained to National Geographic that while Inspector Clouseau’s unusual color may be conspicuous, it is unlikely to impact the ray’s chances of survival.

His color may appeal to curiosity but Inspector Clouseau is a formidable specimen, measuring 11 feet in length. The ray could weigh up to a ton as a fully grown adult male.

According to Smithsonian Magazine, Project Manta eventually concluded that Inspector Clouseau’s rare rosy hue is probably the result of a genetic mutation. A genetic variant known as erythrism can lend an abnormal skin or fur coloration of the animal.

In the case of Inspector Clouseau, the result of his genetic abnormality is a beautiful rose-pink belly. The rare manta ray is, as far as scientists know, one of a kind.