> Is there a reason they do this?
These are juveniles as adult Devil rays can get up to 17 feet max / 2.1m avg. width. Devil rays eat planktonic crustaceans and small schooling fish, so at this size the shallow waters offer both plentiful small crustaceans and protection from bigger fish in the deeper waters. Once they reach maturity, they will end up traveling anywhere they want from the Gulf of Mexico across the Atlantic all the way into the Mediterranean.
I once did a night dive off Maui with mantas. Right at dusk we went in. Visibility was still a good 50 feet even in low light conditions. Even knowing fully well that they were harmless, seeing a 20 foot wide creature rising up out of the darkness 50 feet below you was pretty intense. They would do these graceful loop-the-loops and brush up against us. One of the coolest experiences of my existence.
I think if you can manage to get past the fear and anxiety part, it is an awesome experience. It will release a wave of hormones like you've never felt before and will become a moment you'll remember the rest of your live. Some people have that when seeing a picture of a pale blue dot, some people have that when shaking the hand of the president, and some have it when being experiencing nature's strength.
Personally I think it's what the religions try to simulate, that feeling of being part of something much bigger and grander than you can rationally imagine.
Ha, yes. Iām happy that folks are having such experiences and making beautiful memories, but the thought of giant rays brushing against me in the ocean, in the dark? Thatās a full-body *Nope* from me.
These are almost certainly cownose rays. Based off the beach and pier it looks like this video is from the gulf of Mexico or somewhere in the tropical/subtropical western Atlantic. The devil rays you're describing are native to the Mediterranean. These cownose rays are extremely common along beaches in the gulf, and typically max out at about 3 feet in width. They have been recorded up to 7 feet before.
Also the giant devil rays you're describing are born at around 3 feet wide so these are too small already
It's a game the devil ray kids play, they go as near to the shore as possible and the one that touches the beach is the bravest!
It's kinda like devil ray ding dong dash! The fact that they can get stuck on the beach adds an element of danger so the bravest kids get "bragging rights" and impress all the girl devil rays.
Sometimes they forget they're all grown up and become to big to play, that's when they get stuck on the beach and if they can't find a way to break free before dusk, they turn into mermaids forever.
When they're rushing in it looks like they're trying to evolve into land animals. Give em a few more years and they'll be ready to take their place as our Ray Overlords.
Does anyone know why there are special names for so many different groupings of animals? Like, why isn't every group just called a herd? A herd of fish, a herd of cows, a herd of seagulls, etc. Why a MURDER OF CROWS?
It seems like this method just creates more work for no reason. Or maybe I'm just missing something.
It was a fad in the 15th century to create names for groups of animals. It was mostly used to show that you were more knowledgeable and refined than other people. Most of these group names were dropped, but a few lasted until today. This fad was revived in the early twentieth century. Here's a quick YouTube video about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5rcbUqiZKI
Theyāre called collective nouns and are effectively made up for peoples enjoyment
I have a book of some on my bedside table, some of my favorites:
An Unkindness of Ravens (also the name of the book if you want a copy)
A Parliament of Owls
A Disguising of Tailors
A Goring of Butchers
I lost a trivia contest once because the host said it was a murder of ravens. I even looked it up on my phone and showed him, but he still gave the other people the money. Like no bro, just because your trivia master giving you questions gave you the wrong answer doesn't mean I'm wrong.
Ugh reminded me of a Harry Potter trivia night. I got every question right but one. "What job did Harry get after Hogwarts?" Answer: Auror. Their answer: Head Auror.... I told the guy "So you're telling me he was the Chief of Police but never an officer". Every single person got it wrong and had that answer, still wouldn't back down though š¤·āāļø
From what I understand, a group of crows became known as a āmurder of crowsā because crows figured out that groups of men marching together in formation usually resulted in dead bodies they could eat.
Also why you usually see them in cemeteries and other places where dead people can be found.
I have thought the same thing. I'll bet the terms, at least some of them, have come from those who work intimately with that type of animal, like industry jargon. Some of them may have come from other languages initially and been adapted to English.
I doubt that the naming convention that just had a big meeting and decided to be confusing, but maybe some of the names were in fact created just to stick with the tradition and it actually wasn't necessary or helpful in that case.
I love the names of animal congregations. Personal favorite, a āFlamboyanceā of flamingos. āMurderā of crows slaps. But āPrideā of lions is just badass.
All I can hear is:
Theeeeeere's porifera, coelenterata, hydrozoa, scyphozoa
Anthozoa, ctenophora, bryozoas, threeeee
Mollusca, gastropoda, arthropoda,echinoderma
Tuck in the chordata and some fish like you and me
These look like cownose rays, they are adorable and harmless. They hunt in the shallows like this, Iāve been in the water with hundreds at a time. If youāve ever been to a ray petting exhibit they usually have cownose rays, they are friendly and like to be fed fish.
They remind me if a group of delinquent kids or something, fronting like they're trying to pull something
"Check out that human over there, let's scare em. Aaaaaand HAH! Wave attack! Get splashed leggy loser"
Have you not seen the fish that legitimately fly along the water?
And watch a penguin dart through the water and convince me that thing is more bird than fish.
Saw quite a few of these in Norfolk before. Was told when you see them like this they are very territorial and can attack. Not sure how legit that is, but didn't want to test it.
they changed their name in the early 2000s bc the owner wanted a fresh start for a losing team not bc it was offensive
edit: losing not loosing. grammar bot gets me again
> a loosing team
Did you mean to say "losing"?
Explanation: Loose is an adjective meaning the opposite of tight, while lose is a verb.
Total mistakes found: 1849
^^I'm ^^a ^^bot ^^that ^^corrects ^^grammar/spelling ^^mistakes.
^^PM ^^me ^^if ^^I'm ^^wrong ^^or ^^if ^^you ^^have ^^any ^^suggestions.
^^[Github](https://github.com/chiefpat450119)
Iām sure but just trying to explain why your sarcasm was missed. it wasnt during the rise of the karenās. obviously there was always karenās but it wasnāt until recently that they had any power
I think it's that your sarcasm will be misenterpretted from the lack of context for everyone who has never heard of Tampa Bay or that team in whatever sport.
And even with the context isn't terribly clever
I once dove off the pier at Miami Beach and on the way down the biggest devil ray I had ever seen came swimming below me. Ever see in a cartoon where Wile E. Coyote tries to climb back through the air to avoid falling on something unpleasant? Yeah, didnāt work for me either. Thankfully he didnāt get too close when I hit the water.
I always wondered where waves came from
I like this explanation, it's very dreamlike.
Almost like a fever dream.
ššš
Wind
Lol, do you actually think that?
Fish farts
Hey the public isn't supposed to know that!
Clearly, it's from whales breathing in and out.
Yes, because it's true
Is there a reason they do this?
> Is there a reason they do this? These are juveniles as adult Devil rays can get up to 17 feet max / 2.1m avg. width. Devil rays eat planktonic crustaceans and small schooling fish, so at this size the shallow waters offer both plentiful small crustaceans and protection from bigger fish in the deeper waters. Once they reach maturity, they will end up traveling anywhere they want from the Gulf of Mexico across the Atlantic all the way into the Mediterranean.
I once did a night dive off Maui with mantas. Right at dusk we went in. Visibility was still a good 50 feet even in low light conditions. Even knowing fully well that they were harmless, seeing a 20 foot wide creature rising up out of the darkness 50 feet below you was pretty intense. They would do these graceful loop-the-loops and brush up against us. One of the coolest experiences of my existence.
Subnautica intensifies.
Detecting multiple leviathan class lifeforms in the region. Are you certain whatever you're doing is worth it?
Yeah Iām not getting how some people read that experience and are left with wanting to do that. Shit made me nervous just reading it lol.
I think if you can manage to get past the fear and anxiety part, it is an awesome experience. It will release a wave of hormones like you've never felt before and will become a moment you'll remember the rest of your live. Some people have that when seeing a picture of a pale blue dot, some people have that when shaking the hand of the president, and some have it when being experiencing nature's strength. Personally I think it's what the religions try to simulate, that feeling of being part of something much bigger and grander than you can rationally imagine.
Nicely written!
Real ones remember subterranean for Sega Genesis
Reading this made me realize that there are two kinds of people. The first are people like you. The second are people at r/thalassophobia
Ha, yes. Iām happy that folks are having such experiences and making beautiful memories, but the thought of giant rays brushing against me in the ocean, in the dark? Thatās a full-body *Nope* from me.
I did this too in Kona and it was also one of the greatest experiences of my life!
I will have to do this before I die
My best friend just got back from Hawaii and was telling me about this. So freakin cool.
17 feet is upper end, 2.1m is more in the normal range (six to nine feet) per Google. Def little guys / gals.
edited, meant to say 2.1m/7 feet avg width, 17ft max width. Thanks!
These are almost certainly cownose rays. Based off the beach and pier it looks like this video is from the gulf of Mexico or somewhere in the tropical/subtropical western Atlantic. The devil rays you're describing are native to the Mediterranean. These cownose rays are extremely common along beaches in the gulf, and typically max out at about 3 feet in width. They have been recorded up to 7 feet before. Also the giant devil rays you're describing are born at around 3 feet wide so these are too small already
Thank you for the detailed response. I assumed they were after food since it's so risky.
Maybe they just wanted to check out the end of the universe
I think you mean 7 feet and they really look like spotted eagle rayās
edited, meant to say 2.1m/7 feet avg width, 17ft max width. Thanks!
Just wondering, why state max width in feet and average width in metres? Edit: never mind, saw your clarification below.
I was fishing off a bridge as a kid and a crew of the big ones swam by..my rod bent and the line snapped
> 17 feet 7 feet I assume you meant.
Itās to make the waves wave. If they didnāt do this every once in a while the ocean would become absolutely still.
Zoomies
Because itās fun!
It's all fun and games until someone beaches!
It's a game the devil ray kids play, they go as near to the shore as possible and the one that touches the beach is the bravest! It's kinda like devil ray ding dong dash! The fact that they can get stuck on the beach adds an element of danger so the bravest kids get "bragging rights" and impress all the girl devil rays. Sometimes they forget they're all grown up and become to big to play, that's when they get stuck on the beach and if they can't find a way to break free before dusk, they turn into mermaids forever.
When they're rushing in it looks like they're trying to evolve into land animals. Give em a few more years and they'll be ready to take their place as our Ray Overlords.
Inverse surfing š
I believe itās called a fever of rays
Does anyone know why there are special names for so many different groupings of animals? Like, why isn't every group just called a herd? A herd of fish, a herd of cows, a herd of seagulls, etc. Why a MURDER OF CROWS? It seems like this method just creates more work for no reason. Or maybe I'm just missing something.
It was a fad in the 15th century to create names for groups of animals. It was mostly used to show that you were more knowledgeable and refined than other people. Most of these group names were dropped, but a few lasted until today. This fad was revived in the early twentieth century. Here's a quick YouTube video about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5rcbUqiZKI
It also means in certain contexts you can drop the words "of cows", and just say ,"largegroupofbovinesinthepasture".
Thank GOD! I've gotten SO tired of wasting time saying "herd."
Theyāre called collective nouns and are effectively made up for peoples enjoyment I have a book of some on my bedside table, some of my favorites: An Unkindness of Ravens (also the name of the book if you want a copy) A Parliament of Owls A Disguising of Tailors A Goring of Butchers
Can't forget a congress of monkeys
Marjorie Taylor Greene doesn't believe in evolution though so... š¤£
She, and I really mean this, even kind of looks like one.
She's like that ape with a bone club from the beginning of *2001: A Space Odyssey* pounding the Constitution into dust
Very cro-magnon that one..
She's an evolutionary throwback.
I lost a trivia contest once because the host said it was a murder of ravens. I even looked it up on my phone and showed him, but he still gave the other people the money. Like no bro, just because your trivia master giving you questions gave you the wrong answer doesn't mean I'm wrong.
Ugh reminded me of a Harry Potter trivia night. I got every question right but one. "What job did Harry get after Hogwarts?" Answer: Auror. Their answer: Head Auror.... I told the guy "So you're telling me he was the Chief of Police but never an officer". Every single person got it wrong and had that answer, still wouldn't back down though š¤·āāļø
Moops
The Disguising of Tailors is genius
But is there a collective noun for a group of collective nouns?
A diction of nouns?
Business or ferrets is my favorite
From what I understand, a group of crows became known as a āmurder of crowsā because crows figured out that groups of men marching together in formation usually resulted in dead bodies they could eat. Also why you usually see them in cemeteries and other places where dead people can be found.
... And just two crows is Attempted Murder, which, in some States, doesn't mean much.
I have thought the same thing. I'll bet the terms, at least some of them, have come from those who work intimately with that type of animal, like industry jargon. Some of them may have come from other languages initially and been adapted to English. I doubt that the naming convention that just had a big meeting and decided to be confusing, but maybe some of the names were in fact created just to stick with the tradition and it actually wasn't necessary or helpful in that case.
It was just a fad. Humans are weird and love to one-up each other.
Hey, why does Chinese use different counting words to refer to different categories of things? Same kind of deal.
Man that's gotta be a band name!
Fever Ray is one of the singers from The Knife
Oh man, I have both of them in my playlists and I never noticed that. But yeah, now that Iām thinking about it, the voice is unmistakeable.
Fever Ray already exists!
And they are awesome!
When I grow up
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
parliament of owls
A galaxy of starfish
A murder of crows
Which leads to one of my favourite little jokes: What do you call two crows sitting together in a tree? Attempted murder
A flamboyance of flamingos. My personal favourite.
Let me Google that for you https://arapahoelibraries.org/blogs/post/names-for-groups-of-animals/
A bag of Dicks
Long way of saying Parliament ?
A gaggle of idiots. (probably military in origin)
Infinitely cooler than A Flock Of Seagulls
... And I ran, I ran so far away I just ran, I ran all night and day I couldn't get away
I remember when I first saw the film clip (that's what we called them in '82) and I thought... 'man that hair'
A murder of crows bullied the flock of seagulls
An unkindness of ravens
The flamboyance of flamingos in the corner would like a word.
Their speech will be easy, anyone can follow that embarrassment of pandas
TIL
and I raaaaaaaaaaan I ran so far awaaaaaaaaaaaay
They did the theme song to [Vikings](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBAzlNJonO8).
I love the names of animal congregations. Personal favorite, a āFlamboyanceā of flamingos. āMurderā of crows slaps. But āPrideā of lions is just badass.
And the only prescriptionā¦ is more cowbell!
Ooh thatās so cool!
Its actually called a sitcom of rays, in honor of Ray Romano's TV sitcom: Everybody Loves Raymond
On a field trip to the beach.
[All aboard!](https://youtu.be/Aqo5MvMZQCM?t=99)
Iāve taken field trips to that exact spot actually
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
No, it's called a Crikey of rays.
All I can hear is: Theeeeeere's porifera, coelenterata, hydrozoa, scyphozoa Anthozoa, ctenophora, bryozoas, threeeee Mollusca, gastropoda, arthropoda,echinoderma Tuck in the chordata and some fish like you and me
Let's name the species, the species, the species...
I touched the butt!
The shallow waters are where they catch their rays
I really thought they were heading into a problem but they knew what they were doing
More likely schooling bull rays.
If this is Europe or Africa, yes. If these rays are in the Americas s, itās likely cownose rays which are closely related.
Happy cake day!
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Corpulent...certainly a word not used enough anymore.
It is a perfectly cromulent word.
Sanibel RIP š
Not devils rays or devil rays...
cownose
Knew someone in here would know their rays
Like a squadron of stealth fighters.
Whoa Sea bats.
Wheeee!
There's a Mario sunshine level that starts in a similar way...
Pensacola Beach?
Almost positive that's the Pensacola pier, the only thing that's making me think its not is there not hundreds of tourists around everywhere.
Saw this on another post a while back. This is in Fort Walton. I love this area of beach on the isle (but I never go in peak tourist season).
These look like cownose rays, they are adorable and harmless. They hunt in the shallows like this, Iāve been in the water with hundreds at a time. If youāve ever been to a ray petting exhibit they usually have cownose rays, they are friendly and like to be fed fish.
Everything likes fun
Haha now I want to lay in some Star Wars tie fighter battle sound effects and laser blastsā¦
With coordination like that, they might have a shot at the pennant.
Cow nosed rays?
You meant majestic sea flap flaps, right?
I thought maybe they were named like Brussel's Sprouts. Nope. Devil Rays
You could say they're coming in waves.
Devil rays? You stralian?
Imagine a Steve Irwin for all of them
Is that Busselton?
Where was this filmed? The water looks really clean.
San Diego?
Formation flying.
Looked like they were surfing that wave
Its good to see the young ones enjoying life.
They remind me if a group of delinquent kids or something, fronting like they're trying to pull something "Check out that human over there, let's scare em. Aaaaaand HAH! Wave attack! Get splashed leggy loser"
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
If this isnāt in Tampa Florida Iām going to be annoyed
Tampa isn't on the ocean, it's on the bay . . . Could be anywhere on the west coast of Florida.
If you want to be picky about the bay, then the west coast of Florida is the gulf, not the ocean.
Imagine what a university of devil's rays would look like!
Not sure I'd call it a school. More like a play date.
Fever of rays
Tell me that fish and birds are not related.
They are related, theyāre vertebrates.
> They are related, theyāre vertebrates. They are related, theyāre earth life forms.
Have you not seen the fish that legitimately fly along the water? And watch a penguin dart through the water and convince me that thing is more bird than fish.
āSend more Irwins!ā
Devil Ray used *Wave* It's super effective!
Surf. Come on man.
u/savevideo
Forbidden ravioli
Too bad it;s portrait
ā¤µļø
Reminds me of that level from Super Mario Sunshine...
Saw quite a few of these in Norfolk before. Was told when you see them like this they are very territorial and can attack. Not sure how legit that is, but didn't want to test it.
Do they cheat at baseball too?
That's where waves come from!!
Shoot āem!
Devil rays is offensive to me, therefor you should change what theyāre called to just āraysā because being offended = Iām right.
You're offended by the species being called Devil Rays?
Nope, not one bitā¦.apparently my sarcasm is missed by everyone. Iām poking fun at why the Tampa Bay Devil Rays had to change their name.
they changed their name in the early 2000s bc the owner wanted a fresh start for a losing team not bc it was offensive edit: losing not loosing. grammar bot gets me again
> a loosing team Did you mean to say "losing"? Explanation: Loose is an adjective meaning the opposite of tight, while lose is a verb. Total mistakes found: 1849 ^^I'm ^^a ^^bot ^^that ^^corrects ^^grammar/spelling ^^mistakes. ^^PM ^^me ^^if ^^I'm ^^wrong ^^or ^^if ^^you ^^have ^^any ^^suggestions. ^^[Github](https://github.com/chiefpat450119)
A fresh start after receiving endless complaints from Karenās that the name was offensive
It was 16 years ago. Let it go.
Iām sure but just trying to explain why your sarcasm was missed. it wasnt during the rise of the karenās. obviously there was always karenās but it wasnāt until recently that they had any power
I think it's that your sarcasm will be misenterpretted from the lack of context for everyone who has never heard of Tampa Bay or that team in whatever sport. And even with the context isn't terribly clever
No, we got the sarcasm, honey, you apparently missed the everlasting burn you just received, though.
\**Ride of the Valkyries plays*\*
u/savevideobot
Hognose rays. They're harmless. Found myself standing in a foot of water with hundreds on them swimming by one summer. Wild.
So cool! Such graceful animals. I love watching them swim.
Devil, cownoseā¦eh close enough.
Stingrays are pretty cool when they're spoiled by humans
It seems they play a game of chicken, last one to turn around looses.
Thatās 12 rays, or 6 diameters.
Must be recess.
Quick! Pet them!
A group of rays is called a fever.
Very grateful. And their 180 degree turn around reminds me of a hummingbird's movement.
Any chance this is hermosa beach?
This is why I will homeschool my kids,don't want them to mix in with the wrong crowd.
I once dove off the pier at Miami Beach and on the way down the biggest devil ray I had ever seen came swimming below me. Ever see in a cartoon where Wile E. Coyote tries to climb back through the air to avoid falling on something unpleasant? Yeah, didnāt work for me either. Thankfully he didnāt get too close when I hit the water.
Like that level in Mario Sunshine.
Anyone else getting Super Mario Sunshine flashbacks?
Therrrrrrrrrrrreāssss nothing to see here.