Giant Oceanic Manta Ray

The giant oceanic manta ray (Mobula birostris) is the largest living ray species, with documented disc widths reaching approximately 7 meters (about 23 feet). They can weigh well over a metric ton, making them substantially larger than their reef-dwelling relatives, the reef manta ray (Mobula alfredi).

Giant oceanic manta rays are pelagic filter-feeders that primarily consume plankton, including copepods, krill, and small fish larvae. They swim through the water column with their mouths open, filtering food through specialized gill plates called gill rakers, a feeding strategy shared with other large filter-feeders like whale sharks.

Because they are pelagic and roam tropical and temperate oceans worldwide, giant oceanic manta rays are encountered at open-ocean dive sites rather than coastal reefs. Famous aggregation sites include the Socorro Islands off Mexico, the Maldives, and the Galápagos Islands, where divers can observe them at cleaning stations or in open water.

The giant oceanic manta ray (Mobula birostris) can reach disc widths of about 7 meters and roams the open ocean, while the reef manta ray (Mobula alfredi) typically reaches only 3 to 5 meters and stays near coastal reefs in the Indo-Pacific. Both species were previously grouped under the genus Manta but have since been reclassified into the genus Mobula.