The Secrets
of Socorro Mantas
The giant mantas you dive with
at Socorro provide you with one of the most amazing big
animal encounters you'll find anywhere. This month,
we share some insights into manta behaviors
that help explain why the encounters are so unusual:
We have only
a few spots left for 2012 and
early 2013 cruises - but you can grab one of
the spots and take advantage of our Leap Year Special
for fantastic
diving and great savings. Socorro
Manta Secrets: Clarion Angelfish
 The
first insight into our giant mantas'
intense interaction with divers lies
with their unique relationship to the
tiny (by comparison) Clarion Angelfish.
These angels, found only in the Socorro
Islands
/ Revillagigedos Archipelago,
routinely clean the giant mantas of
parasites at "stations" found
throughout the area. While other small
fish may also join in, the angels do
most of the work. Worldwide,it is common
for juvenile angels to clean other
fish, far less common for adults.
In Socorro - it's the
adults who do
the majority of the cleaning. This
combination of adult angels and giant mantas
has led
to both the mantas
and the angels being quite comfortable
engaging in cleaning activity "slightly
away from the reef" where it's
easier for a school of angels to cover
all the territory on a giant manta.
In
most other manta cleaning areas around
the world, the activity is done
close to the reef, and any encroachment
by divers ends in the manta leaving
(often quickly). In Socorro, the cleaning
is often done in blue water, and divers
are invited in! You may see this unusual
cleaning activity clearly in our
Jan. 26, 2012 video trip report
(click
here).
In fact, it almost seems
as though the mantas think divers are giant
clarion angels because they flare and often
assume the cleaning position (wings spread,
back arched) when interacting with divers.
With or without the clarion angels around.
Very unusual behavior indeed - but what
a fabulous encounter!
Giant Mantas: Different
Species
Dr. Andrea Marshall is
a world famous marine biologist who studies manta populations
world-wide in order to help protect and conserve them.
Her in-depth research discovered that there are TWO distinct
species of giant mantas.
 Most Socorro visitors immediately recognize
that some of our giant mantas are nearly all black and
often seem
smaller than most of the black/white (called
Chevron) giant mantas you see. So we're often asked
if these mantas are a different species. And they seem
different enough at first glance to make that a
relevant question.
Well - it turns out that
there are at least two different
species of giant mantas - manta bilostris and manta
alfredi. But
coloration has nothing to do with it. Dr.
Marshall's research proved that manta bilostris is
the species found offshore (and usually larger)
and genetically
different from manta alfredi which is found inshore.
For more on Andrea Marshall's cutting edge
manta research, click
here.
The darker offshore giant
mantas are
referred to as melanistic mantas. There's supposedly
a nearly all
white "morph" version of the offshore mantas
well, but we haven't seen it in nearly 20 years of
exploring the Socorro Islands. But, all of the mantas
you see at
Socorro all belong to the same off-shore species,
manta bilostris .
The mantas you see at Socorro are
some of the largest and most diver friendly you will
ever encounter. Past
visitors on our vessel who have traveled to other manta
hot-spots around the world often return to the
Solmar V just because the giant manta activity is
so unique. And
that's a wonderful compliment to pay our mantas!
Join us and experience the Socorro giant mantas
first-hand - you won't be disappointed.
LEAP YEAR Special
 Since
February 29th only comes around once every four years we
decided to celebrate Leap Year with a „Leap Year
Special"! The trip dates are:
December 13 - 21, 2012
January 5 - 13, 2013
January 15 - 23, 2013
January 25 - February 2, 2013
The
Leap Year Special includes:
- 11% Mexican IVA tax - Included
- Hotel Night Prior - Included
- Roundtrip Airport Transfers
- Included
- Free Upgrade to Superior Cabin (while they
last) - Included
- Free Alcoholic Beverages - Included
- National Park Fees - Included
- Port Clearance Fees -
Included
- Fuel Surcharges - Included
- Over $500 in savings and value added per person!
Special Leap
Year Flat Rate of $ 3199. Normal Trip price is $3550/3560 including
the tax PLUS you
normally pay extra for hotel room and tranfers
in Cabo San Lucas.
For exact availability
on any of the trips listed above, or to make a deposit
for a booking, please contact our
office by phone or email.
Latest Trip Reports - Solmar V
FRead
our latest trip reports and
follow our most recent adventures - we post new trip
reports after every trip! Click on your favorite web
link below!
   
SOLMAR V
P.O. Box 529, Topanga, CA 90290
Toll Free: 1-866-591-4906, CA and Int: (310)455-3600
(Office Hours are Mon - Fri, 9-5, West Coast U.S.Time)
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