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you're in the warm waters around Santa
Maria Island and the Atlantic Ocean in
flying towards you are a group of
mysterious winged sea creatures known as
Modula rays they're also called double
rage because of the horns on their head
biologists don't know a lot about ma
beulas but they do know that their
brains are the largest of any fish
species which may explain why these rays
exhibit increased social and cognitive
abilities akin to small mammals
every year modulos make seasonal
migrations to warm waters in the Pacific
Atlantic and Mediterranean because of
their elusive nature these rays are
notoriously difficult to observe in the
wild so biologists take advantage of
this annual gathering to study them
but these gatherings also attract danger
ma beulas are heavily poached for their
Gil plates which are used in Chinese
medicine and since this species has a
low reproductive rate there is limited
ability to recover from population
declines
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activists are working to protect the
race and as of 2016
all nine species of Modula ray are
listed under sightings appendix key
meaning trade and fishing are strictly
regulated
the hope is that this protection will
help raise awareness about these
beautiful creatures and prevent Modula
rays from disappearing all together
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