New Data Reveals Chilean Devil Ray is One of the World's Deepest Divers

The world's deepest divers aren't human. Instead, sea creatures plumb the depths of the world's oceans. Now, though, scientists have found that one of the world's deepest divers is the Chilean devil ray, an animal that is most often seen gliding through shallow, warm waters.

"So little is known about these rays," said Simon Thorrold, one of the researchers, in a news release. "We thought they probably travelled long distances horizontally, but we had no idea that they were diving so deep. That was truly a surprise."

Devil rays can grow as large as 13 feet across. Known as ocean nomads, they travel large areas of the ocean. Yet while researchers were aware that these creatures travel large distances, they didn't know that they also dove deep.

The scientists only recently discovered this diving behavior by using pop-up satellite archival transmitting tags. This allowed them to record the movement patterns of 15 Chilean devil rays in the central North Atlantic Ocean during 2011 and 2012. The tags stayed on the rays for about nine months and also measured water temperature, depth, and light levels of the waters where the rays happened to be at the time. Then, the tags popped off and floated to the surface.

The data actually showed that these rays routinely travel at speeds of up to 13.4 mph and dive up to depths of 1.24 miles beneath the surface. In these dark reaches of the ocean, temperatures can reach a frigid 39.2 degrees Fahrenheit. Not only that, but these dives lasted anywhere between 60 to 90 minutes. It's very likely that these rays are actually foraging on large numbers of fish located in the deep ocean.

"There's an enormous amount of biomass in the deep ocean that we're only starting to understand the significance of," said Camrin Braun, one of the researchers, in a news release. "This paper suggests that devil rays are aware of and regularly exploit this resource, which demonstrates an unexpected new link between the surface and the deep ocean."

The findings reveal a bit more about these rays, which is important considering that these creatures are under increasing fishing pressures. By understanding more about these animals, scientists and fisheries can make informed decisions when setting catch limits in the future.