Oceanic Manta Ray

Mobula birostris

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Elasmobranchii
Order: Myliobatiformes
Family: Mobulidae
Genus: Mobula
Species: Mobula birostris

The oceanic manta ray (Mobula birostris) is the largest ray in the world, with a disc width that can exceed 6 m. It has a black back with sharp-edged white shoulder patches forming a T shape, a mostly white belly with dark spots concentrated near the lower edge, and a dark mouth.

It is larger and more oceanic than the reef manta ray, roaming widely across open water and visiting offshore islands and seamounts to feed on plankton and to be cleaned by reef fish. The species is listed as Endangered.

In the Philippines oceanic mantas are encountered at offshore sites and around seamounts and islands exposed to open ocean, including parts of the Visayas and Palawan. Sightings are less predictable than those of reef mantas.

Photo: Bill Levine, CC BY 4.0, via iNaturalist