Photo Mary Duncan	Manta Manta birostris This young manta was found washed up on Kommetjie beach recently. While its range is given as Cape Point and further east, it is not often seen in Cape Town waters. It is likely that previous sightings are from washed up animals like this one, or from further offshore. The warm Agulhas current regularly brings in tropical or sub-tropical species down to Cape Town, as the many reports on the SURG site show. The current, strong and narrow near the Natal coast, fans out over the Agulhas banks and often forms eddies - small patches of warm water which move into False Bay or north along the Cape Peninsula. It is possible that this manta found itself in such an eddie, and when it dissapated could not handle the cold temperatures and eventually died.
References: Thanks to Mike Nortje of Pisces for sending in the photo. Coastal Fishes of Southern Africa. PC Heemstra & E Heemstra, 2004 Smiths' Sea Fishes, MM Smith and PC Heemstra, 1986.
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