A mystery animal - thought to be a stingray - appears to have got lost in Venice after swimming down one of the city's famous canals.

Rare footage of the fish swimming gracefully through the waters has been shared online after being filmed by a gondolier.

Many locals say have never seen a ray in the waters while the man who captured the film said it was the first time he had ever seen anything like it.

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The short film shows the ray, which are related to sharks , as it swims down one of Venice's many canals.

In the background, excited children and adults can be heard admiring the fish.

Panic as Manta ray seen swimming past gondolas in Venice
The ray was seen swimming past gondolas in Venice

The man who took the images, named only as Giorgio, said he had taken the video in the Grand Canal as it was swimming among the gondolas apparently untroubled by the boats above.

He said: "I was on my way back when I caught a glimpse of something in the water , and I was intrigued so I followed the trail.

"I grabbed my camera because I could see there was something in the water but couldn't film it too well, and I thought maybe it was a cormorant.

Panic as Manta ray seen swimming past gondolas in Venice
Locals said they had never seen a ray swimming in the city's canals

"But then when I got nearer and it suddenly turned and went past me and I realised it was a ray."

He added: "I don't think it is rare to see something like this in Thailand , but I'm 50 and have been doing this job for 20 years, and I've never seen anything like it."

It is unclear what species of ray it may have been or what happened to it after the video was taken.