Mobula tarapacana (Philippi 1892)

Other Names: Box Ray, Chilean Devil Ray, Devil Ray, Greater Guinean Mobula, Sicklefin Devil Ray, Spiny Mobula

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J., Mobula tarapacana in Fishes of Australia, accessed 20 Apr 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/5294

Mobula tarapacana (Philippi 1892)

More Info

Distribution	Recorded from just inside 12 Mile Reef, about 15.7 km SE of Bermagui, New South Wales. Elsewhere this species occurs worldwide in tropical and warm temperate waters, with a patchy distribution. It may be a seasonal visitor to areas with regular upwelling in oceanic island groups, and near offshore pinnacles and seamounts (White et al. 2006a). This devil ray undertakes long migrations of up to 3,800 km and has been recorded diving to a depth of 1,896 m (Thorrold et al. 2014). The species is seen either solitary or in schools.
Biology	The species is an aplacental, live-bearing matrotroph (the embryo receives nourishment from uterine milk secretion), and females produce on average a single pup per year.
Fisheries	The dried branchial filter plates (gill plates or pre-branchial appendages) from devil rays are used in the Traditional Chinese Medicine industry. They are used as a health tonic purported to treat a wide variety of conditions. In some areas, the species is also targeted for food and local products using a variety of gear types including harpooning, longlining, handline, netting, and trawling.
Conservation	Devil rays are very susceptible to fishing pressure as they have very low reproductive rates (females give birth to about one pup per year) and they have low post-release survival. Populations are considered to have declined globally - a trend that is expected to continue due to the demand for devil ray gill plates.
Author	Bray, D.J.

Mobula tarapacana (Philippi 1892)

References

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Duffy, C.A. & Vogiatzis, A. 2016. First record of the sicklefin devilray Mobula tarapacana (Myliobatiformes: Mobulidae) from Australian waters. Zootaxa 4126 (1): 141-145. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4126.1.9 Abstract

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