Atlantic manta

About this species

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 from the Wikipedia article “Giant oceanic 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: 140 records
February: 177 records
March: 296 records
April: 187 records
May: 92 records
June: 65 records
July: 92 records
August: 260 records
September: 487 records
October: 699 records
November: 343 records
December: 161 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 8–25 m · Deepest record: 1,225.5 m

0–10 m: 27 records
10–20 m: 104 records
20–30 m: 36 records
30–40 m: 0 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 1 records
60–70 m: 1 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 1 records
110+ m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 15–30 °C

14–16 °C: 34 records
16–18 °C: 17 records
18–20 °C: 1 records
20–22 °C: 12 records
22–24 °C: 190 records
24–26 °C: 171 records
26–28 °C: 126 records
28–30 °C: 29 records

Photos

(c) Elias Levy, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Victor E. Chocho, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Bill Levine, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Geoff Shuetrim, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Ingvild Riska, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Bill Levine, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Nathaniel Isabella, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Atlantic manta, Australian Devilray, Chevron Manta, Chevron Manta Ray, Devilfish, Devil Ray, giant manta, Giant Manta Ray, Giant Manta Ray, Pacific manta ray, Devilfish, Chevron manta, Pelagic manta, Oceanic manta, Giant Oceanic Manta Ray, Giant Ocean Manta Ray, Manta Ray, Munguna, Oceanic Manta, Oceanic manta ray, Pacific Manta Ray, Pelagic Manta, Pelagic Manta Ray, Prince Alfred's Ray

Names in 6 more languages

German: Mantarochen, Riesenmanta
Spanish: Manta Cornuda, Manta Diablo, manta gigante, Manta Raya, mantarraya, Mantarraya Gigante, Manta Voladora, Raia-jamanta
French: Diable de mer, mante atlantique, mante géante, Raie manta, Raie manta géante, Raie manta, Mante du Pacifique, Mante atlantique, Mante géante, Raie manta océanique
Japanese: Oniitomakiei, オニイトマキエイ
Thai: ปลากระเบนราหูยักษ์
Simplified Chinese: 雙吻前口蝠鱝, 飛魴仔, 鬼蝠魟, 鷹魴

Other scientific names: Brachioptilon hamiltoni, Cephaloptera stelligera, Cephalopterus manta, Cephalopterus vampyrus, Ceratoptera ehrenbergi, Ceratoptera ehrenbergii, Ceratoptera johnii, Manta americana, Manta birostris, Manta brevirostris, Manta ehrenbergii, Manta hamiltoni, Manta raya, Raja birostris, Raja manatia

Similar species

Reef manta ray
Mobula alfredi

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).
2,733 open-data records from 1792 to 2024.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.