Giant manta ray (Mobula birostris).
Image: Daniel Sasse, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
At a glance
- IUCN category
- EN · Endangered
- Animal group
- Fish
- Population trend
- Decreasing
- FaunaHub record reviewed
- Checked against IUCN
- Matches source — IUCN's 2022 global assessment of Mobula birostris says EndangeredChecked 2026-10-09 against IUCN's Red List export published 2026-07-28 · assessment
Conservation overview
The giant manta ray is the largest ray in the world, a gentle filter-feeder with a wingspan that can exceed seven metres. It is assessed as Endangered.
It feeds on plankton and is famous for acrobatic leaps.
Range & habitat
Tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide, mostly in the open sea.
Major threats
Threats below are drawn from the authoritative sources listed on this page. For the current, complete assessment, see the IUCN Red List.
- Targeted fishing for gill plates
- Bycatch
- A very low reproductive rate
Why it matters
A wide-ranging, slow-breeding ocean giant, the giant manta ray is a flagship for protecting open-ocean wildlife and curbing fisheries that target rays.
Gallery
Giant manta ray (Mobula birostris).
Image: Arturo de Frias Marques, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Sources
Sources for Giant Manta Ray
- IUCN Red List — look up Giant Manta Ray (authoritative status)
- NOAA Fisheries
- Animal Diversity Web