Giant oceanic manta ray
Mobula birostris
- Scientific name
- Mobula birostris
- Group
- Sharks & Rays
- Rarity
- Legendary
- Where to see it
- Indo-Pacific & Red Sea, Caribbean & Tropical Atlantic
- Conservation status (IUCN)
- Endangered
Did you know?
The giant oceanic manta ray can reach a 7-meter wingspan and has the largest brain relative to body size of any fish. It feeds by filtering plankton, unfurling its cephalic lobes to funnel water toward its mouth.
What defines this group — Sharks & Rays
The cartilaginous fish: not a single bone in the body, a skeleton made entirely of cartilage.
- A cartilage skeleton, lighter and more flexible than bone.
- No gill cover: five to seven gill slits open on the sides or underneath.
- Pores on the snout — the ampullae of Lorenzini — pick up the electric field of prey.
Other species in this group
- Common stingray
- Blacktip reef shark
- Small-spotted catshark
- Common torpedo ray
- Bluespotted ribbontail ray
- Thornback ray