Wildlife Experts Believe This Video Captured a New Species of Manta Ray Off Palm Beach

A video taken off the coast of south Florida shows what some local wildlife experts believe could be a potential new find.

The footage was captured by photographer and conservationist, Ivy Yin, using a drone to get the best view. The video shows what some think might be a new manta ray species cruising along in the surf of Palm Beach, Florida. After making the extraordinary discovery, Yin contacted Dr. Andrea Marshall, co-founder of the Marine Megafauna Foundation to see what she thought.

Here is the video that’s been floating around the internet:

 

This morning I was lucky to spot this #Manta off Palm Beach Island. I sent the video to Dr. Andrea Marshall the @queenofmantas and co-founder of the @marinemegafauna foundation. Dr. Marshall said they are studying this species here in southeast #Florida and it could be a new species. Dr. Marshall and her team suspect southeast Florida is a nursery habitat and it’s important that attention is given to conserving this species and its habitat. . . #ourchildrensearth #atlanticcurrent #mantamonday #citizenscience #fieldwork #protectwhatyoulove #planetocean #science #nature #education #conservation

A post shared by Ivy Yin (@ivy_yin_) on Apr 16, 2018 at 4:11pm PDT

Officials haven’t yet determined if this is in fact a new species of manta ray or not. 

OutdoorHub Reporters

The OutdoorHub Reporters are a team of talented journalists and outdoorsmen and women who work around the clock to follow and report on the biggest stories in the outdoors.