Mobula ray

Photo: guillaume_papuga · CC BY-NC

The giant devil ray aggregates over Princess Alice Bank in extraordinary numbers during summer, drawn by the upwelling of nutrient-rich cold water that concentrates zooplankton prey around the seamount. Schools of hundreds wheel in tight formations near the surface, each individual leaping clear of the water in explosive bursts thought to be linked to parasite removal or social signalling. This is an Endangered species under the IUCN Red List; the seamount aggregations represent one of the largest known concentrations in the northeast Atlantic.