🐟Giant manta ray
The giant oceanic manta ray, giant manta ray, oceanic manta ray, or pelagic manta ray is a species of ray in the family Mobulidae and the largest type of ray in the world. It is circumglobal and is typically found in tropical and subtropical waters but can also be found in temperate waters. Until 2017, the species was classified in the genus Manta, along with the smaller reef manta ray. DNA testing revealed that both mantas are closer related to some Mobula species than these are to other Mobula, being claded together. As a result, the two Manta species were absorbed into Mobula to reflect the new classification.
Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
IUCN Red List assessment, 2022.
- Body mass
- 3,000 kg
- Body length
- 4.5 m
- Shoulder height
- not recorded
- Top speed
- not recorded
- Bite force
- not recorded
- Maximum lifespan
- 20 years
Everything we know about the Giant manta ray
Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.
Body mass3,000 kgmaximum recordedFishBaseDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: FishBase · v25.04 · CC BY-NC 4.0
Body length4.5 mrecord 9.1 m · FishBasetypical adultFishBaseDetails ↓Hide ↑
Record: largest individual on record
Source: FishBase · v25.04 · CC BY-NC 4.0
Maximum lifespan20 yearsmaximum recordedFishBaseDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: FishBase · v25.04 · CC BY-NC 4.0
Trophic level3.46FishBaseDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: FishBase · v25.04, estimate table · CC BY-NC 4.0
DietcarnivoreaverageDetails ↓Hide ↑
From trophic level 3.46 (FishBase): <2.2 herbivore, 2.2–2.8 omnivore, >2.8 carnivore.
Danger to humansharmlessFishBaseDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: FishBase · v25.04 · CC BY-NC 4.0
Volume l3,000 LaverageDetails ↓Hide ↑
Body mass at ~1.0 kg/L, the density of vertebrate tissue.
average = a mean across sexes or species in a group.
Not recorded for Giant manta ray yet: shoulder height, top speed, bite force.
Family tree
- kingdomAnimalia
- ›phylumChordata
- ›classElasmobranchii
- ›orderMyliobatiformes
- ›familyMyliobatidae
- ›genusMobula
- ›speciesMobula birostris
- classSharks & rays · Chondrichthyes
- familyMyliobatidae
- subfamilyMobulinae
- genusMobula
All 12 branches ↓Fewer branches ↑
- kingdomMetazoa
- phylumChordata
- subphylumCraniata
- subphylumVertebrata
- superclassGnathostomata
- classSharks & rays · Chondrichthyes
- subclassElasmobranchii
- superorderBatoidea
- orderMyliobatiformes
- familyMyliobatidae
- subfamilyMobulinae
- genusMobula
More about the Giant manta ray
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