Mobula alfredi

(Krefft, 1868)

Vernacular names
English : Reef manta ray
French : Raie manta de récif

Classification
Class : Elasmobranchii
Order : Myliobatiformes
Family : Myliobatidae (formerly Mobulidae)
Notes : No subspecies known.

Identification
Adults can reach up to 5 meters in length for a width to 5,50 m. Very long and slender whip-like tail. Very broad mouth. Coloration black with pale shoulder patches, white mouth, belly white with black markings to nearly entirely black.

Range and habitat
The species occurs in the Indo-Pacific area, from Red Sea and east African coast to south Japan, north Australia and east to Hawaii and Marquesas Islands. Pelagic, also found near coral and rocky reefs, atolls, to 460 meters deep.

Conservation
IUCN RED LIST : VULNERABLE
CITES : Not Listed
Status : The species is caught by fisheries for the growing gill plate trade and as bycatch. It has one of the world’s lowest reproductive rate for a ray.
Ex-Situ Programs : None known

Observation

 

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