📷 (c) Victor E. Chocho, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY
📷 (c) Bill Levine, some rights reserved (CC BY)
📷 (c) Bill Levine, some rights reserved (CC BY)
IUCN: Endangered
Giant Oceanic Manta Ray
Mobula birostris
KingdomAnimalia›PhylumChordata›ClassChondrichthyes›OrderMyliobatiformes›FamilyMobulidae›GenusMobula
About
The giant oceanic manta ray is the largest ray on Earth, gliding through warm seas with winglike pectoral fins. It feeds by filtering plankton from the water and often visits reef cleaning stations where small fish remove parasites. Mantas are intelligent, social, and capable of long migrations, but they reproduce slowly and are threatened by bycatch and targeted fishing.
Key Facts
⛰Habitat Tropical and subtropical open oceans, reefs, and cleaning stations
🍃Diet Filter feeder — zooplankton, krill, and tiny fish
📏Size & Weight Disc width commonly 4–5 m; maximum over 7 m
•weight Up to about 2,000 kg
⏳Lifespan 40 years or more
🗺Range Circumtropical oceans worldwide
FishRay
Key Facts
⛰Habitat Tropical and subtropical open oceans, reefs, and cleaning stations
🍃Diet Filter feeder — zooplankton, krill, and tiny fish
📏Size & Weight Disc width commonly 4–5 m; maximum over 7 m
•weight Up to about 2,000 kg
⏳Lifespan 40 years or more
🗺Range Circumtropical oceans worldwide
Photo Credits
#1(c) Victor E. Chocho, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY
#2(c) Bill Levine, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY
#3(c) Bill Levine, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY
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