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By TERRY TOMALIN

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 25, 2000

My wife and I were riding a wave runner Saturday morning through the inlet at south Clearwater Beach. Much to our surprise a giant stingray leaped out of the water no more than 20 feet in front of us. It seemed to soar through the air at least 8 feet in height and then folded its wings and dove back into the water. At first it surprised me and I did not realize what it was until the second leap. I am a fisherman but never have seen this and no one could explain why the ray was leaping through the sound.Jerry Keating

Jackson, Miss.

The animal in question was not a stingray. Judging from the size, it was probably an Atlantic manta, Manta birostris. This species is widely dispersed throughout tropical waters and is encountered regularly by fishermen from Brazil to the Carolinas and occasionally as far north as New England

Mantas are the largest of the ray species with specimens documented at 22 feet from tip to tip, but any animal over 10 feet could be considered large.

These fish can often be spotted traveling near the surface, the tips of their fins protruding above the water. Many fishermen often mistake a ray for two sharks swimming together.

As for why mantas jump, one theory is that the animals are trying to dislodge parasites, such as remoras, which are often seen attached to large specimens.

The jumping fish you saw might have been a spotted eagle ray, Aetobatus narinari. Although not as large as a manta, the spotted eagle ray is more common in local waters.

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