Giant Manta Ray, Mobula birostris (Walbaum 1792)

Other Names: Australian Devilray, Chevron Manta, Devilfish, Giant Manta, Oceanic Manta, Pacific Manta Ray, Pelagic Manta

A Giant Manta Ray, Manta birostris, in Thailand. Source: Jon Hanson / Wikimedia Commons. License: CC BY Attribution-ShareAlike

Summary:

The Giant Manta Ray is the largest living ray. Mantas use the large flaps on either side of the head to direct zooplankton and small fishes into their wide mouth.

In many parts of the world, Manta rays are being overfished - mostly for their gill rakers, which are dried and sold as Asian medicinal products.

In publications prior to the revision of the family Mobulidae (White et al. 2017) Mobula birostris was known as Manta birostris.

Giant Manta Rays at Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia.

Giant Manta Rays filmed in Australia.

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2020, Mobula birostris in Fishes of Australia, accessed 20 Apr 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/2035

Giant Manta Ray, Mobula birostris (Walbaum 1792)

More Info

Distribution	Widespread, although relatively uncommon in Australian waters; also Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean. Elsewhere the species is circumglobal - usually offshore, often around oceanic islands, sometimes coastal, and most common in tropical waters. Giant Manta Rays aggregate around Ningaloo Reef during autumn and winter.
Size	Grows to a disc width (DW) of at least 7 metres, and possibly to more than 9 metres. Females mature at 410-430 cm DW Males mature at 350-410 cm DW
Feeding	Manta rays have a broad mouth at the end of the head with a single band of minute teeth in the upper jaw. They have two cephalic lobes on the front of their heads that help direct water flow into the mouth. Mantas have gills modified into complex sieving plates through which filter plankton from the water. Burgess et al. (2016) found that Giant Manta Rays off Ecuador feed in surface waters, along with the mesopelagic zone.
Fisheries	Giant Manta Ray populations have suffered from over-fishing as these slow-swimming giants are an easy target. Mantas are targeted in many parts of their range, and almost all of the fish is used. Their gill rakers, which are thought to reduce blood toxins, are increasingly being traded in the lucrative Traditional Chinese Medicine Industry.
Conservation	EPBC Act 1999 : Listed Migratory species IUCN Red List : Vulnerable CITES Listed : Appendix II
Similar Species	Differs from Manta alfredi in size, coloration, morphometric measurements, and in having a caudal spine in a post-dorsal protuberance (Marshall et al., 2009).
Etymology	The specific name birostris refers to the two horn-like cephalic lobes: bi- (= two) and rostrum (= snout).
Species Citation	Raja birostris Walbaum, 1792. Petri Artedi renovati 3: 535. Type locality: Unknown
Author	Bray, D.J. 2020
Resources	Australian Faunal Directory

Giant Manta Ray, Mobula birostris (Walbaum 1792)

References

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