Experts speculate that the 3.4 meter long marine critter fish may have a rare genetic mutation that causes its entire body to turn bright pink.

Photographer Kristian Laine spotted the pink manta ray while free diving on an island at the southern tip of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. At first, Laine thought his camera was broken.

Inspector Clouseau swims around with ordinary rays. (Photo: National Geographic).

Scientists from Australia’s Project Manta research organization confirmed that the pink color of the sea manta ray is the real color. At first, they hypothesized that Inspector Clouseau’s color was the result of dermatitis or diet, similar to how flamingos eat small crustaceans. But in 2016, Project Manta researcher Amelia Armstrong took a small skin biopsy sample from the animal. Research results help eliminate inflammation and diet.

The most reasonable hypothesis currently offered by Project Manta is that the fish has a gene mutation that expresses melanin pigment, according to Asia Haines, a research assistant at the organization. “Understanding the origin of this genetic mutation could help us gain more information about how color evolved in marine critters,” Haines said.

Solomon David, a marine ecologist at Nicholls University in Louisiana, suspects the cause is a mutation called erythrism that causes the animals’ skin pigmentation to be red or pink in some cases. More common gene mutations in animals can cause their entire bodies to be black (melanin) or white (albino).

Guy Stevens, chief executive and founder of the Manta Trust in the UK, also believes that erythrism is the most likely explanation. Coral reef fish are usually white, black or black-white. The last coloration is most common in a contrasting pattern, where the fish has a black back and a white belly. Viewed from above, the dark back blends into the sea water, while viewed from below, the light belly blends in with the sea surface illuminated by sunlight, helping to better protect marine animals from predators. bait like a shark.

However, Stevens believes that the bright colors of marine critters do not affect their ability to survive or make them vulnerable to predators. That’s because of the giant size of reef manta rays, adults can weigh more than a ton. “They are already big from birth, and grow so quickly in the first few years, that only the largest predators in the sea can hunt them,” Stevens explained.