In the darkness nearly a mile beneath the ocean’s surface, where the pressure would crush a human and temperatures hover just above freezing, a creature with wings wider than a car glides through the abyss. It’s not searching for food or fleeing danger, but most likely finding direction. That’s the conclusion of a study that’s the first of its kind to examine in detail the extreme deep-diving behavior of oceanic manta rays (Mobula birostris). The findings, published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science, reveal that the rays can dive to depths of 1,250 meters (4,100 feet, or about three-quarters of a mile), part of the water column known as the midnight zone, which researchers say may help them navigate across thousands of miles of open water. “No one ever dreamed mantas would go this

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