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Conservation through Research, Education & Collaboration
 

Field Guide to Manta and Devil Rays of the World

Dr. Guy Stevens, Nuno Barros, Betty Laglbauer, Marc Dando, Daniel Fernando and Giuseppe Notarbartolo Di Sciara

This guide contains over a dozen ways to assist you with the identification of manta and devil rays and the species they associate with, whether in the ocean (alive), at fishery landings sites (dead), within trade (gill plates), or from the air. A new dichotomous key has been created to simplify identification using easy-to-recognise features. The key directs the reader to key identification characteristics, and to further aid and simplify identification, the guide and key colour codes the species by ocean-basin occurrence. Detailed species accounts provide key features, range maps, colour illustrations, behavioural descriptions and underwater imagery for each manta and devil ray species. This guide also provides the tools, guidance, and materials in the form of data collection protocols, codes of conduct, guidelines and more, which we hope will aid the research and conservation management of these threatened rays.

 
 
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Guide to the Manta and Devil Rays of the World

Dr. Guy Stevens, Daniel Fernando, Marc Dando, and Giuseppe Notarbartolo Di Sciara

Guide to the Manta and Devil Rays of the World is the first dedicated field guide dedicated to manta and devil rays. It includes detailed information on the identification, characteristics, threats and distribution of each of the species within this family of rays. Illustrated with over 200 beautiful colour photos, drawings and plates, this guide also contains an expansive introduction packed full of useful information on the general taxonomy, biology and behaviour of these iconic animals.

 
 
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MANTA: Secret Life of Devil Rays

Written by Dr. Guy Stevens. Photography by Thomas P. Peschak

The World's first book on manta rays

Out of stock

 
 
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ABOUT THE BOOK

Manta rays are the embodiment of nature's majesty - they captivate and connect people to our oceans. Marine biologist Dr. Guy Stevens, and National Geographic photographer Thomas P. Peschak, joint forces to create the world's first book on manta rays.

As co-founders of the conservation charity, the Manta Trust, they combine groundbreaking photography and the latest scientific research to create a unique book on these charismatic animals. The authors hope that this definitive publication will convey the grace and inquisitive nature of these threatened rays, capturing what is at stake if we choose not to respect and protect our oceans.

 

INSIDE THE BOOK

 
 

MANTA: Secret Life of Devil Rays was published by the Save Our Seas Foundation (SOSF), an NGO funding innovative projects on marine research, conservation and education around the globe. In 2007, Guy Stevens' manta research in the Maldives was one of the first conservation projects funded by SOSF. A decade later, this collaboration has evolved into a proud partnership in which SOSF delightedly supports the influential mobulid conservation projects Manta Trust conducts, such as the creation of this book.

 
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 THE AUTHORS

 
 
 
 
 

DR. GUY STEVENS

Guy Stevens is the Chief Executive and Founder of the Manta Trust. He has spent the last 20 years studying mobulids all over the world and is one of the foremost experts on these species. He founded the Maldives Manta Conservation Programme in 2005 and after 11 years of research, he completed his PhD on the world’s largest population of reef manta rays at the end of 2016.

His conservation efforts in the Maldives have led to the creation of several marine protected areas at key manta aggregation sites, most notably at Hanifaru Bay. Internationally, he is part of a team which has driven the conservation of mobulids forward, resulting in the listing of all manta and devil rays in the Appendices of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (the Bonn Convention) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). He is the author of two books; the award-winning MANTA – The Secret Life of Devil Rays, published in 2017, and the Guide to Manta and Devil Rays of the World, published in 2018, and he has also published over 40 peer-reviewed research papers.

Guy hopes that this book will evoke the desire and empathy within each reader, to seek out their own underwater encounter with these fascinating animals - in turn, opening their eyes and minds to connecting with the ocean we all depend upon.

THOMAS P. PESCHAK

Thomas P. Peschak is an assignment photographer for National Geographic Magazine. He is a Founding/Associate Director of the Manta Trust, and a senior fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers. He has been named as one of the 40 most influential nature photographers in the world.

Originally trained as a marine biologist specializing in human–wildlife conflict, he retired from science fieldwork in 2004. He became an wildlife photojournalist after realizing that he could have a greater conservation impact through photographs than statistics. His work focuses on some of the most critical marine conservation issues of our time. 

In 2008, Thomas photographed his first story for National Geographic Magazine in the northern Maldives, in a tiny body of water called Hanifaru Bay. Now known as a manta ray Mecca, Thomas  regularly found himself in the eye of a storm of cyclone-feeding mantas, encountering hundreds of rays throughout a month-long assignment. The experience was integral to his mission to nurture a connection between people and manta rays, and highlight the conservation crisis these animals face around the world. 

Through this book, Thomas hopes that his manta images transcend the printed page, and pass on some of the awe and excitement he has felt during every manta encounter.

 
 

REVIEWS AND TESTIMONIALS

 
 
 
 
 

SIR RICHARD BRANSON

Ocean Elder & Founder of Virgin Group

‘Guy and Thomas have brought together their knowledge and expertise to create a book that perfectly captures the essence of manta rays. It stirred within me a desire to do more to help conserve our oceans, and I hope that it does the same for you!’

 
 
 
 
 

DOUG ALLAN

Wildlife Cameraman & Photographer

‘Mantas can’t fail to impress, they’re spectacular animals to encounter underwater, and Guy’s level of knowledge about them and their individual characters gave me a whole new level of fascination.’

 
 
 
 
 

DOUG PERRINE

Marine Wildlife Photographer

‘MANTA: Secret Life of Devil Rays, is one of those rare volumes that is both gorgeous to look at, and fascinating to read. Although the author and most of the contributors are scientists, they write in a style that is easily accessible to the average reader. Stevens has avoided the temptation, to which many academics succumb, to write in arcane jargon that can only be appreciated by fellow researchers. Yet, the content is not in any way “dumbed down.” I have been reading and writing about these rays for many years, and yet found something that was new and surprising to me on page after page.

The text is, unsurprisingly, biased somewhat toward the manta population of the Republic of Maldives, where Stevens has conducted most of his research. However there are also sections concerning populations elsewhere, and much of the text is applicable to mantas worldwide. As one would expect of a creative and dedicated photographer who is regularly featured in National Geographic Magazine, Tom Peschak has produced an extraordinary compliment of photos well-suited to the large format of the book. The book is worth the purchase price for its decorative value alone, but the buyer who takes the time to read it through will be amply rewarded.’

 
 
 
 
 

HUGH FEARNLEY-WHITTINGSTALL

Chef, Journalist, Food & Environmental Campaigner

‘Guy Stevens and Thomas Peschak’s beautiful book Manta: Secret Life of the Devil Rays combines stunning photography with the gripping story of the Mantas' natural history, and an urgent conservation message. Guy Stevens is devoting his life to understanding these truly magical animals, and he writes about them with as much authority as passion. There can be no more charismatic icon for our rapidly changing seas, and no more urgent reason to take better care of them.’

 
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