Based on Jeffery’s account of Clouseau’s serene demeanor, Project Manta researcher Kathy Townsend told ABC News that stress, which sometimes ruddies up the bellies of sharks and rays, was probably an unlikely culprit. The next year, a small biopsy of the ray, taken by team member Amelia Armstrong, ruled out a skin infection or an unusually red-pigment-heavy diet as potential causes as well.
Through process of elimination, Project Manta is now pursuing a different hypothesis. Perhaps Clouseau’s coral blush is the result of a genetic mutation that affects skin pigmentation, researcher Asia Haines tells National Geographic.
Such mutations are fairly common in the animal world, including among fish, as well as humans with albinism. One variant called erythrism can give skin a reddish or pinkish hue, yielding strawberry-blonde leopards and fuschia grasshoppers.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/rare-pink-manta-ray-spotted-near-australias-lady-elliot-island-180974196/
This is a red Katydid (related to grasshoppers) I discovered in Esperance, which is a rare colour form. Commonly they are a greenish colour like the photo at the bottom.
