Giant Devil Ray Mobula mobular - The Shark Trust

Giant Devil Ray Mobula mobular 

COMMON NAMES APPEARANCE 

Giant Devil Ray, Mediterranean Devil Ray, Devil Fish, Horny Ray, • Dorsoventrally flattened with broad head and subterminal mouth. 

Mante (Fr), Kleiner Teufelsroche (De), Manta (Es), Diavolo di Mare (It). 

• Pectoral fins extend past head, forming distinct cephalic fins. 

SYNONYMS 

Raia mobular (Bonnaterre, 1788), Raja fabronia (Lacepède, 1800), Raja 

cephaloptera (Schneider, 1801), Raja giorna (Lacepède, 1803), Mobula 

auriculata (Rafinesque, 1810), Apterurus fabroni (Rafinesque, 1810), 

Cephalopterus massena (Risso, 1810), Cephaloptera giorna (Lacepede, 

1803), Dicerobatis giornae (Günther, 1870), Cephaloptera (Dicerobatis) 

rochebrunei (Vaillant, 1879), Cephaloptera edentula (Griffini, 1903), 

Mobula giorna (Went, 1957). 

DISTRIBUTION 

Map base conforms with ICES grid squares. 

Dorsal View (♀) 

Text & Illustrations © Shark Trust 2009 

No Records 

Occasional 

Range 

The Giant Devil 

Ray is primarily 

a Mediterranean 

species although it is 

known in the North 

Atlantic from Senegal 

to northern Spain. 

There is a record 

of a vagrant from 

southwest Ireland. 

Expert examination 

is required to 

distinguish it from 

the Spinetail Devil 

Ray, Mobula japanica, 

meaning its Atlantic 

range may be more 

limited than thought 

(Notarbartolo di 

Sciara et al., 2006). 

• Dorsal fin small and at base of tail. 

• Long, thin tail with prickly spines. 

• Dark brown to bluish black dorsally. 

• White ventrally . 

• Teeth in 150–160 vertical series. 

Ventral View (♀) 

• To 520cm disc width (DW) and 650cm total length (TL). 

A massive species growing to more than 5m DW, the Giant Devil Ray is 

the only member of the Mobula genus found in the northeast Atlantic 

and Mediterranean. It can be distinguished from similar species in 

these regions by the cephalic fins projecting beyond the head. There 

are one or more serrated spines at the base of the tail. Adults have 

thornlets on both surfaces and tail, although they are more densely 

covered ventrally (Whitehead et al., 1986). 

Dorsally it is brown to bluish black with no distinct white 

patterning. Ventrally it is white. The teeth in adults form 15–160 

vertical series. The flanges on the outer margins of adjacent gill plates 

are not fused together, forming branchial filter plates (Whitehead et 

al., 1986). The maximum recorded size is from a specimen captured off 

Algeria which measured 520cm DW and 650cm TL. However, they are 

normally encountered around 300cm DW (Serena, 2005). 

RMM EN 

NE ATL MED

SIMILAR SPECIES 

Myliobatis aquila, Common Eagle Ray 

Pteromylaeus bovinus, Bull Ray 

Rhinoptera marginata, Lusitanian Cownose Ray 

Myliobatis aquila, 

Common Eagle Ray 

Rhinoptera marginata, 

Lusitanian Cownose Ray 

(Not to scale) 

Supported by: 


Giant Devil Ray 

Mobula mobular, 


Pteromylaeus bovinus, 

Bull Ray

TEETH 


Sharp cusped teeth, 54–60 rows in 

the upper jaw (Farias et al., 2005. 

Clark, 1926). 

ECOLOGY & BIOLOGY 

HABITAT 

The Giant Devil Ray is an epipelagic species primarily found in 

offshore deepwater over continental shelves. It can be found from 

the surface to a depth of several thousand metres (Notarbartolo di 

Sciara et al., 2006). Often seen in groups of two or more. It may make 

long migrations across its range, the reasons for which are as yet 

unknown (Serena, 2005). 

DIET 

The Giant Devil Ray is adapted to feed on planktonic crustaceans 

and small schooling fishes with the gills forming branchial filter 

plates. In the Mediterranean Sea, the most important prey item is 

the euphasiid shrimp, Meganyctiphanes norveggica (Notarbartolo di 

Sciara et al., 2006). 

REPRODUCTION 

An aplacental viviparous species, Giant Devil Ray embryos receive 

nourishment from uterine milk (histotroph) secretions. The females 

give birth to a single pup after a gestation period of 25 months. The 

largest term embryo yet recorded had a disc width of 165.9cm and 

weighed 35kg (Notarbartolo di Sciara et al., 1988). 


LATERAL VIEW OF HEAD 

Mobula mobular, 


Myliobatis aquila, 

Common Eagle Ray 

Pteromylaeus bovinus, 

Bull Ray 

Rhinoptera marginata, 

Lusitanian Cownose Ray

Supported by: 

COMMERCIAL IMPORTANCE 

The Giant Devil Ray is not targeted but is taken by longlines, pelagic 

driftnets, purse seines, trawls and fixed tuna traps. This bycatch is 

generally discarded (Notarbartolo di Sciara et al., 2006). 

THREATS, CONSERVATION, LEGISLATION 

Although there is no directed fishery for the Giant Devil Ray, 

incidental catch and mortality rates are high. It was regularly 

captured by pelagic driftnets targeting swordfish in the 

Mediterranean but the use of these was banned by the EU in 2002 

(Notarbartolo di Sciara et al., 2006). Illegal driftnet fishing is still a 

serious problem however (EJF, 2007). It is also taken by longlines, 

purse seines, trawls and fixed tuna traps. It is generally discarded 

when caught. Due to its relatively limited geographic range, 

habitat destruction could also be a significant threat to the species, 

particularly considering the poor state of many Mediterranean 

ecosystems. Its epipelagic habitat makes it particularly vulnerable 

to oil spills and heavy maritime traffic (Notarbartolo di Sciara et al., 

2006). 

The Giant Devil Ray is included in the Annex II list of endangered 

or threatened species to the Protocol concerning Special Protected 

Areas and Biological Diversity in the Mediterranean of the Barcelona 

Convention, which came into force in 2001 (Notarbartolo di Sciara 

et al., 2006). The Mediterranean wide ban on the use of pelagic 

driftnets should have removed one of the most significant threats 

to the species but it has proved difficult to enforce and unregulated 

fishing has continued on a large scale (EJF, 2007). 


IUCN RED LIST ASSESSMENT 

Endangered (2006). 

HANDLING AND THORN ARRANGEMENT 

• Handle with care. 


• Extremely large with venomous spine at base of tail.

REFERENCES 


EJF. 2007. Illegal Driftnetting in the Mediterranean. Environmental 

Justice Foundation. London, UK. 

MCAULIFFE, J. A., ITANO, D. G., ARCENEAUX, S. 2007. Photographic 

Identification Guide for Billfish, Sharks, Rays, Tuna-like and Non 

Tuna Finfish Taken in WCPO Pelagic Longline Fisheries (V1). 

Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission. Honolulu, 

USA. 

NOTARBARTOLO DI SCIARA, G., SERENA, F., MANCUSI, C. 2006. 

Mobula mobular. In: IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of 

Threatened Species. www.iucnredlist.org. 

NOTARBARTOLO DI SCIARA, G., SERENA, F. 1988. Term Embryo 

of Mobula mobular (Bonnaterre, 1788) from the Northern 

Tyrrhenian Sea. Atti Soc. ital. Sci. nat. Museo civ. Stor. nat. Milano, 

129 (4): 396–400. 

SERENA, F. 2005. Field Identification Guide to the Sharks and Rays 

of the Mediterranean and Black Sea. FAO. Rome, Italy. 

WHITEHEAD, P. J. P., BAUCHOT, M. L., HUREAU, J. C., NIELSEN, J., 

TORTONESE, E. (Eds.). 1986. Fishes of the Northeast Atlantic and 

Mediterranean. UNESCO. Paris, France. 


Text: Richard Hurst. 

Illustrations: Marc Dando. 

Citation 

Shark Trust; 2009. An Illustrated Compendium of Sharks, Skates, Rays 

and Chimaera. Chapter 1: The British Isles. Part 1: Skates and Rays. 

Any ammendments or corrections, please contact: 

The Shark Trust 

4 Creykes Court, The Millfields 

Plymouth, Devon PL1 3JB 

Tel: 01752 672008/672020 

Email: enquiries@sharktrust.org 

For more ID materials visit www.sharktrust.org/ID. 

Registered Company No. 3396164. 

Registered Charity No. 1064185

Giant Devil Ray Mobula mobular - The Shark Trust

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