Sky Mantas

An image depicting a Greater sky manta flying over a village with two other individuals of the same species flying further above it.

### Height

Unknown, possibly varies accordingly to their size.

### Date of Creation

July 6th, 2020

Sky Mantas are a genus of enormous cryptids by RandomStuff Animations.

## Appearance

Sky Mantas are unusually large, dark gray/transparent/grayish blueish creatures that somewhat resemble stingrays, but have greatly enlarged and almost wing-like pectoral fins that they use as stabilizers. Their size is currently unknown, but due to their gargantuan size, its estimated the wingspan of larger species is 4 Kilometers, while smaller ones are estimated to be about 1 kilometer to 350 meters. They also play host to what appear to be antennae on their heads, but these organs serve to help individuals sense the direction of the wind. Much like stingrays, the tips of their tails have venomous barbs that they use to defend themselves. While typical individuals can range from up to a kilometer long from head to tail, this average size can vary depending on the species, with the largest species among them being up to 10 kilometers long when fully grown. They also appear to bend with the clouds due to their coloration.

## Behavior

These creatures, as they are animalistic beings, display no signs of sapience or sentience. They behave and feed in a manner very similar to baleen whales, sifting the clouds and air for food particles and aeroplankton in small flocks. Though they typically ignore humans and their aircraft, smaller species of sky manta will attempt to spar with aircraft when in breeding season. While they appear to have no outward signs of being able to fly other than their pectoral fins, which they rarely flap, what appear to be eyes are actually openings to a complex organ system that allow sky mantas to fly and maintain their direction via jet propulsion. They share this trait with Aircraft Sharks, implying that they both share a common ancestor.

Breeding season typically occurs once every five years. When in breeding season, male sky mantas will spar with each other over access to mates by flying past one another at high velocities, with some species nearly breaking the sound barrier. If there are too many males in a given area, multiple males in that area will gradually change sex to female to ease the competition. After mating, gestation typically takes three years, with their young being able to fly as soon as they are born. Despite their immense size when fully grown, while the adults are rarely bothered, their young are often preyed upon by aircraft sharks.

## Abilities

**Flying:** Due to their low density flesh and organs specialized for producing lighter than air gas that function in a manner similar to a swim bladder, sky mantas have the ability to fly.

**Opinokinetic (Sensory Manipulative) Blood:** The blood of a sky manta, regardless of species, is a deep black and very heavy gaseous substance that contains chemical compounds analogous to chlorocruorin, a compound used in the blood of certain marine worms. If inhaled, this substance causes feelings of being drowned. It could even kill in a varied amount of hours. This substance has no effect on aircraft sharks and other sky mantas.

**Species-dependent Electrokinesis (Lightning Manipulation):** Some species of Sky Manta have evolved to utilize electricity for defense against predators. One of the more well-known examples of this is the Speckled Sky Manta, whose wingspans can be up to 2 kilometers long when fully grown. They utilize specialized sensory organs in their antennae to build up static electricity for up to a month, and if a predator or perceived threat comes along, they discharge up to 50,000 Amps into their target. While this electricity can deter predators such as Aircraft Sharks, it can be lethal if it connects to something on the ground.

## Theories

Very little is known about these creatures, resulting in theories on what their origins are to run wild. However, the main theory on their origin is that they originated from a different dimension where flying animals adapted to reach immense sizes. If this is the case, it is unknown how the sky mantas and the aircraft sharks managed to find their way to earth.

## Gallery

❝The good news is we finally got a rare footage of the pups hunting, the bad news is that the civilians had to evacuate the city as the air around it was unbreathable, some say it felt like drowning...❞ Official art by RANDOMstuff\_anims.A sky manta being fatally wounded by an unknown species of aircraft shark. Official art by RANDOMstuff\_anims.