Sharks enjoy pampering too

Like ladies at the salon, sharks and manta rays appreciate a bit of pampering.

Researchers from Australia's James Cook University have found they regularly gather in large numbers at special reef 'salons' for a spruce-up.

The researchers set up cameras at a number of reef locations and captured sharks and manta rays showing up for regular grooming sessions carried out by smaller fish.

"The objective of the study was to document the occurrence and frequency of visits by manta rays and sharks to cleaning stations in the northern Great Barrier Reef and at Osprey Reef in the Coral Sea," one of the researchers, Professor Michael Kingsford, said.

He said manta rays would show up at the cleaning stations and would hold completely still while the smaller fish went to work, often for several hours at a time.

Sharks were also keen for a clean, holding themselves in a vertical position while the smaller fish worked, or swimming over cleaning sites to receive attention.

Professor Kingsford said both sides benefited from the salon sessions.

Prof Kingsford said the research showed the value of these cleaning stations in studying the behaviour and ecology of sharks and rays.

- AAP