Why Is One Manta Ray Neon Pink?

The reef manta rays of eastern Australia are normally black and white, but one specimen is a shocking bight pink. Learn about the manta ray nicknamed Inspector Clouseau in this episode of BrainStuff.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain
Stuff Lauren Volga bam here. Some of us are lucky
and showed up on this planet with a certain amount
of fashion Genessa Qua, but one particular reef mantarey living
off the coast of Queensland, Australia, has enough personal flare
for all of us. The Mantarey's human given name is

(00:24):
Inspector Clusseau, after the bumbling French detective in the Pink
Panther movie franchise. Because he's cruising around the reefs of
eastern Australia flashing shocking pink flippers at marine life and
humans alike, he might be the only neon pink mantarey
in the world. The reef mantarey is one of the
largest species of ray in the world, but although their beefy,

(00:46):
their color palette is typically pretty subdued, normally white with
a few black splotches. Inspector Clusseau has been spotted about
ten times since he was first discovered. In In February,
a photographer named Christian Lane snapped some photos of a
group of male man to raise following a female's pheromone trail.

(01:07):
One ray in particular, made him think he was doing
something wrong with his camera the color didn't look right.
After consulting some locals, he discovered that the animal had
seen was somewhat of a local celebrity. Why Inspector Clusau
is pink is a question that has puzzled scientists. In
sixteen one, researcher Amelia Armstrong took a skin biopsy to

(01:28):
see if it might be a result of his diet
or maybe an infection. Since those hypotheses have been ruled out,
the current one is that Inspector Cluso's rosy coloring is
the product of a rare genetic mutation. Some gene mutations
can cause commonly known conditions, such as albinism, which is
the result of a lack of color pigments called melanin

(01:49):
in the skin, hair, or eyes of an animal, or melanism,
which is the result of a super production of melanin.
But Cluzo likely has a genetic mutation known as ari thrism,
which causes the skin to take on a red or
pink hue. This condition is not unheard of in fish,
but Clouseau is the first documented case of a manta
ray with air a thrism. Of course, air a thrism

(02:12):
isn't the only way animals can achieve a pinkish hue.
Some get it from their diet, which is why researchers
checked that out first. Animals from flamingos to cardinals to
salmon get their orange pink red colors from foods that
are high in compounds called carotenoids, which yes, we're named
for carrots, but lots of plants from apples to algae

(02:35):
produce these compounds, and animals can pick up those pigments
and wind up storing them in their skin, feathers, or flesh.
Male cardinals are pale unless they eat red dogwood berries,
and flamingos and salmon get their colors from eating various
aquatic animals that themselves eat algae, and even humans can
pick up an orange yellow skin tint from eating high

(02:56):
quantities of orange vegetables, white carrots, or pumpkin. Today's episode
was written by Jesseline Shields and produced by Tyler Clang.
For more in this lots of other colorful topics, visit
how stuff works dot com. Brain Stuff is production of
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(03:18):
to your favorite shows.