Creatures in Crisis
Photograph of Giant oceanic manta ray (Mobula birostris), recorded as Endangered
Giant oceanic manta ray (Mobula birostris). Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Endangered

Giant oceanic manta ray

Mobula birostris

Giant oceanic manta ray is an eagle ray in the family Myliobatidae (order Myliobatiformes) — Mobula birostris, recorded as Endangered.

Status
Endangered
Scientific name
Mobula birostris
CITES
Appendix II
Taxonomy
Elasmobranchii · Myliobatiformes · Myliobatidae · Mobula

Appearance

The giant oceanic manta ray can grow up to 9 m (30 ft) in length and a disc size of 7 m (23 ft) across, with a weight around 3,000 kg (6,600 lb), but the typical size is 4.5 m (15 ft). The eyes and the spiracles are on the side of the head behind the cephalic fins, and the gill slits are on the ventral (under) surface. It has a small dorsal fin, and the tail is long and whip-like.

Range and habitat

The giant oceanic manta ray has a widespread distribution in tropical and temperate waters worldwide. In the Southern Hemisphere, it occurs as far south as Peru, Uruguay, South Africa, and New Zealand. It is an ocean-going species and spends most of its life far from land, travelling with the currents and migrating to areas where upwellings of nutrient-rich water increase the availability of zooplankton.

Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.

Diet and breeding

Males become sexually mature when their disc width is about 4 m (13 ft), while females need to be about 5 m (16 ft) wide to breed. At first, they are enclosed in an egg case and the developing embryos feed on the yolk.

After the egg hatches, the pup remains in the oviduct and receives nourishment from a milky secretion.

In crisis

CITES lists this taxon on Appendix II. Confirm the current appendix on the CITES checklist.

Giant oceanic manta ray is Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.

Sources

Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Giant oceanic manta ray, Wikidata item Q321976. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.

Photograph via Wikimedia Commons. Wikipedia · Wikidata · IUCN Red List.

Same genus

Photograph of Bentfin devil ray (Mobula thurstoni), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Bentfin devil ray

Mobula thurstoni
Photograph of Box ray (Mobula tarapacana), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Box ray

Mobula tarapacana
Photograph of Devil fish (Mobula mobular), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Devil fish

Mobula mobular
Photograph of Lesser devil ray (Mobula hypostoma), recorded as EndangeredEN

Lesser devil ray

Mobula hypostoma

Quick answers

What is Giant oceanic manta ray?
Giant oceanic manta ray is an eagle ray in the family Myliobatidae (order Myliobatiformes) — Mobula birostris.
What is the conservation status of Giant oceanic manta ray?
Endangered, as the IUCN category stored on Wikidata for Mobula birostris. Confirm the official assessment on iucnredlist.org.
Where does Giant oceanic manta ray live?
The oceanic manta ray is often found in association with offshore oceanic islands.
Why is Giant oceanic manta ray in crisis?
It is Endangered on Wikidata. Read the official Red List assessment for the criteria.
Is this the IUCN Red List page for Mobula birostris?
No. This is a researched catalog account. The Red List is the assessment.
Is Giant oceanic manta ray a pet?
An animal on this catalog is in crisis in the wild. Keeping one is usually the wrong question.