Reef manta ray

Mobula alfredi

Sharks and rays
IUCN: Vulnerable

Usual depth6–15 m
Water temperature21–29 °C
Best monthsJune, July, and August
How commonCommon

Photo credit: (c) Rachel Crane, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Rachel Crane · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

The reef manta ray or hāhālua is a species of ray in the family Mobulidae, one of the largest rays in the world. Among generally recognized species, it is the third-largest species of ray, surpassed by the Giant oceanic manta ray and the Atlantic manta ray.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Reef manta ray”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 556 records
February: 558 records
March: 756 records
April: 753 records
May: 563 records
June: 1,199 records
July: 1,520 records
August: 1,370 records
September: 1,109 records
October: 678 records
November: 923 records
December: 781 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 6–15 m · Deepest record: 92 m

0–10 m: 1,549 records
10–20 m: 990 records
20–30 m: 87 records
30–40 m: 16 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 2 records
80–90 m: 1 records
90–100 m: 7 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 21–29 °C

20–22 °C: 3 records
22–24 °C: 15 records
24–26 °C: 749 records
26–28 °C: 4 records
28–30 °C: 4 records

Photos

(c) R Vasconcellos, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Jeremy Jones, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) R Vasconcellos, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Cricket Raspet, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Nicola Crockford, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Reef manta ray, Alfred Manta, Australian Devil Ray, Coastal Manta Ray, Devilfish, Inshore Manta Ray, Manta Devil Ray, Manta Ray, Munguna, Prince Alfred's Ray, Reef Manta Ray, Alfred manta, Inshore manta ray, Prince Alfred’s ray

Names in 6 more languages

German: Riffmanta
Spanish: Manta Alfredi, Manta de arrecife, Mantarraya de arrecife
French: Manta d'Alfred, Manta des récifs, Raie manta de récif
Japanese: Nan-yomanta, Riifu-oniitomakiei, ナンヨウマンタ, リーフオニイトマキエイ, リーフオニイトマキエイ／ナンヨウマンタ
Thai: ปลากระเบนแมนตาแนวปะการัง, ปลากระเบนราหูแนวปะการัง
Simplified Chinese: 阿氏前口蝠鱝

Other scientific names: Ceratoptera alfredi, Deratoptera alfredi, Manta alfredi, Manta fowleri, Manta pakoka, Manta pakota

Similar species

Atlantic manta
Mobula birostris
Devil ray
Mobula mobular
Sicklefin devil ray
Mobula tarapacana
Smoothtail mobula
Mobula thurstoni

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
7,815 open-data records from 1935 to 2019.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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