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title: "What the sources say about the Giant Oceanic Manta Ray | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "54 claims from the Giant Oceanic Manta Ray profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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# What the sources say about the Giant Oceanic Manta Ray (*Mobula birostris*)

> 54 claims from the Giant Oceanic Manta Ray profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Giant Oceanic Manta Ray](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/giant-manta-ray/)

## Giant Manta Ray. NOAA Fisheries.

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/giant-manta-ray

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The ocean's largest ray | The giant manta ray is the world's largest ray |
| three pairs of fins | making them the only vertebrate animals with three paired appendages (note: NOAA calls the cephalic lobes "cephalic fins" elsewhere on the page, so the three paired appendages are fins) |
| a wingspan of up to 26 feet | The giant manta ray is the world's largest ray with a wingspan of up to 26 feet |
| can dive past 1,000 metres | is capable of diving to depths exceeding 1,000 meters |
| Tropical to temperate oceans worldwide | found worldwide in tropical, subtropical, and temperate bodies of water |
| from productive coastlines to oceanic islands and offshore seamounts | seasonal visitor along productive coastlines with regular upwelling, in oceanic island groups, and near offshore pinnacles and seamounts |
| Krill, copepods, mysids, shrimp and decapod larvae | Manta rays primarily feed on planktonic organisms such as euphausiids, copepods, mysids, decapod larvae, and shrimp (note: krill is the common name for euphausiids) |
| funneled over its gill plates | creating a funnel that pushes water and prey through their mouth and over their gill plates |
| Two cephalic lobes help channel water into its mouth, making manta rays the only vertebrates with three paired appendages. | two structures called cephalic lobes which extend and help to channel water into the mouth for feeding activities (making them the only vertebrate animals with three paired appendages) (note: scope: NOAA says manta rays (both species), not this species alone) |
| The Ocean's Biggest Ray | The giant manta ray is the world's largest ray (note: heading paraphrases "largest" as "biggest") |
| the largest ray species alive | The giant manta ray is the world's largest ray |
| a disc width, the distance from wingtip to wingtip, of up to 26 feet (about 8 metres) | Disc width up to 26 feet (note: 26 ft converts to ~7.9 m, rounded to 8 m; the same page calls it a wingspan) |
| a weight of up to 5,300 pounds (about 2,400 kilograms) | Weight Up to 5,300 pounds (note: 5,300 lb converts to ~2,404 kg, rounded to 2,400 kg; the same words appear in the body and FAQ 2) |
| Manta rays have been reported to live at least 45 years. | Although manta rays have been reported to live at least 45 years, not much is known about their growth and development. |
| Two structures called cephalic lobes extend in front of its mouth and help channel water in while it feeds. | In front of the mouth, they have two structures called cephalic lobes which extend and help to channel water into the mouth for feeding activities |
| NOAA Fisheries says they make manta rays the only vertebrates with three paired appendages. | making them the only vertebrate animals with three paired appendages |
| Giant manta rays are filter feeders. | They are filter feeders and eat large quantities of zooplankton. |
| Mantas hold their cephalic lobes in an "O" shape and open their mouths wide, pushing water and prey over their gill plates. | When feeding, mantas hold their cephalic fins in an “O” shape and open their mouths wide, creating a funnel that pushes water and prey through their mouth and over their gill plates. (note: NOAA uses both "cephalic lobes" and "cephalic fins" for the same structures) |
| They mainly eat krill, copepods, mysids, shrimp and decapod larvae, and some studies have noted small and moderately sized fish as well. | Manta rays primarily feed on planktonic organisms such as euphausiids, copepods, mysids, decapod larvae, and shrimp, but some studies have noted their consumption of small and moderately sized fish as well. (note: krill is the common name for euphausiids) |
| Mantas also feed in chains with other mantas, or barrel roll, somersaulting over and over again. | Manta rays use many different types of feeding strategies, such as barrel rolling (doing somersaults over and over again) and creating feeding chains with other mantas to maximize prey intake. |
| Tagging studies show giant manta rays making dives of up to 200 to 450 metres, and they are capable of diving deeper than 1,000 metres. | tagging studies have also shown that the species conducts dives of up to 200 to 450 meters and is capable of diving to depths exceeding 1,000 meters |
| That diving may be influenced by the season and by prey shifting with the thermocline | This diving behavior may be influenced by season and shifts in prey location associated with the thermocline. (note: the clause after it defines thermocline for readers and adds no claim about mantas) |
| Giant manta rays tend to be solitary, but they gather at cleaning sites and to feed and mate. | Although the giant manta ray tends to be solitary, they aggregate at cleaning sites and to feed and mate. |
| Giant manta rays are found worldwide in tropical, subtropical, and temperate waters. | The giant manta ray is found worldwide in tropical, subtropical, and temperate bodies of water |
| A migratory species, they make seasonal visits to productive coastlines with regular upwelling, oceanic island groups, and offshore pinnacles and seamounts. | The giant manta ray is a migratory species and seasonal visitor along productive coastlines with regular upwelling, in oceanic island groups, and near offshore pinnacles and seamounts. |
| The timing of those visits varies by region and seems to match the movement of zooplankton, currents, upwelling and water temperature. | The timing of these visits varies by region and seems to correspond with the movement of zooplankton, current circulation and tidal patterns, seasonal upwelling, seawater temperature, and possibly mating behavior. |
| Slow to Breed, Slow to Recover | given their life history traits, particularly their low reproductive output, giant manta ray populations are inherently vulnerable to depletions, with low likelihood of recovery |
| Manta rays have among the lowest birth rates of any sharks or rays | Manta rays have among the lowest fecundity of all elasmobranchs (a subclass of cartilaginous fish) (note: elasmobranchs are the sharks and rays; fecundity paraphrased as birth rate) |
| a female typically gives birth to only one pup every two to three years, and pregnancy is thought to last around a year | typically giving birth to only one pup every two to three years. Gestation is thought to last around a year. |
| NOAA Fisheries says that low reproductive output leaves giant manta ray populations inherently vulnerable to depletion, with a low likelihood of recovery. | given their life history traits, particularly their low reproductive output, giant manta ray populations are inherently vulnerable to depletions, with low likelihood of recovery |
| The main threat is commercial fishing. | The main threat to the giant manta ray is commercial fishing |
| Giant manta rays are both targeted and caught as bycatch in fisheries throughout their range | with the species both targeted and caught as bycatch in a number of global fisheries throughout its range |
| manta rays are particularly valued for their gill plates, which are traded internationally | Manta rays are particularly valued for their gill plates, which are traded internationally. |
| NOAA Fisheries listed the species as threatened under the US Endangered Species Act in 2018 | In 2018, NOAA Fisheries listed the species as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. |
| The giant oceanic manta ray is the largest ray in the world. | The giant manta ray is the world's largest ray |
| a disc width, wingtip to wingtip, of up to 26 feet (about 8 metres) | Disc width up to 26 feet (note: 26 ft converts to ~7.9 m, rounded to 8 m) |
| Mainly plankton. Manta rays primarily feed on krill, copepods, mysids, decapod larvae and shrimp, and some studies have noted small and moderately sized fish too. | Manta rays primarily feed on planktonic organisms such as euphausiids, copepods, mysids, decapod larvae, and shrimp, but some studies have noted their consumption of small and moderately sized fish as well. (note: krill is the common name for euphausiids) |
| They hold their cephalic fins in an "O" shape and open their mouths wide, funneling water and prey over their gill plates. | When feeding, mantas hold their cephalic fins in an “O” shape and open their mouths wide, creating a funnel that pushes water and prey through their mouth and over their gill plates. |
| Manta rays have been reported to live at least 45 years, though not much is known about their growth and development. | Although manta rays have been reported to live at least 45 years, not much is known about their growth and development. |
| They breed slowly too: a female typically gives birth to only one pup every two to three years, and pregnancy is thought to last around a year. | Manta rays have among the lowest fecundity of all elasmobranchs (a subclass of cartilaginous fish), typically giving birth to only one pup every two to three years. Gestation is thought to last around a year. |
| a filter feeder that barrel rolls to feed, doing somersaults over and over again | Manta rays use many different types of feeding strategies, such as barrel rolling (doing somersaults over and over again) (note: vibe.reason; replaces "vast oceanic spatial depth", a place) |

## Marshall et al. (2022). Mobula birostris. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022: e.T198921A214397182.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2022-1.rlts.t198921a214397182.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Endangered | IUCN Red List category: Endangered (EN). |
| the IUCN Red List classifies it as Endangered | IUCN Red List category: Endangered (EN). |

## Manta birostris. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Manta_birostris/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Built of Cartilage | the entire skeleton is made of cartilage |
| A manta ray's entire skeleton is cartilage instead of bone, which allows a wide range of motion. | the entire skeleton is made of cartilage, which allows for a wide range of motion |
| Manta rays have no particular defences apart from their tough skin, but their size means they have few natural predators, although large sharks have been known to attack them. | Manta rays have no particular anti-predator specializations other than their tough skin, but due to their size they do not have many natural predators. Large sharks have been known to attack manta rays. |
| A fish. Manta rays belong to the class Chondrichthyes, the cartilaginous fishes | One of the distinct features of manta rays, and of the class Chondrichthyes , is that the entire skeleton is made of cartilage (note: Chondrichthyes is the class of cartilaginous fishes; the gloss defines the class) |
| their entire skeleton is made of cartilage instead of bone | the entire skeleton is made of cartilage |
| Their gills are on the underside of the body. | The gills are located on the underside of the body. |

## McClain et al. (2015). Sizing ocean giants: patterns of intraspecific size variation in marine megafauna. PeerJ.

https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.715

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Anecdotal reports go as high as 9.1 metres across. | The giant manta ray, M. birostris, reaches disc widths (DW) of at least 7 m ( Newman, 1849 ; Bigelow & Schroeder, 1953 ) with anecdotal reports up to 9.1 m DW |

## Burgess et al. (2018). Novel signature fatty acid profile of the giant manta ray suggests reliance on an uncharacterised mesopelagic food source low in polyunsaturated fatty acids. PLOS ONE.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0186464

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Off mainland Ecuador, giant mantas likely get most of their food from deep water offshore. | M . birostris were only observed feeding on 4% of encounters during peak aggregation time off mainland Ecuador (S2 Appendix), and likely get the majority of their diet from offshore mesopelagic sources (note: "deep water" glosses mesopelagic; the paper's own depths for mesopelagic zooplankton are 0-300 m (upper) and 500-1000 m (lower)) |
| They were seen feeding in only 4 percent of encounters there during peak aggregation time | M . birostris were only observed feeding on 4% of encounters during peak aggregation time off mainland Ecuador |
| an earlier chemical study estimated that, on average, 73 percent of their diet came from mesopelagic (deep-water) sources and 27 percent from surface zooplankton | previous stable isotope data that estimated surface zooplankton sources on average contributed a small portion of dietary intake (27%) in comparison to mesopelagic sources (73%) (note: the paper cites this earlier stable isotope study (its ref 15) as work on M. birostris off mainland Ecuador: "Based on previous stable isotope work, which found that M . birostris off mainland Ecuador gain the majority of their diet from mesopelagic sources"; "chemical" glosses stable isotope) |

## Fish et al. (2018). Kinematics of swimming of the manta ray: three-dimensional analysis of open water maneuverability. Journal of Experimental Biology.

https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.166041

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Yet in 30 filmed slow, steady turns, the quickest fifth averaged about 43 degrees a second and the tightest fifth had a radius of about 2 metres, within the range of swimmers with rigid bodies. | Data for 30 sequences of rays performing slow, steady turns showed the highest 20% of values for the turning rate and smallest 20% of turn radii were 42.65±16.66 deg s -1 and 2.05±1.26 m, respectively. Such turning maneuvers fall within the range of performance exhibited by swimmers with rigid bodies. (note: 42.65 deg/s rounds to about 43; the abstract names the species studied as the manta ray (Mobula birostris)) |