# Giant oceanic manta ray (*Mobula birostris*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/giant-oceanic-manta-ray  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The giant oceanic manta ray (Mobula birostris) is a species in the family Myliobatidae, order Myliobatiformes. It has been recorded in 49 countries, most often in Ecuador, United States and Peru. Its IUCN Red List status is Endangered.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | Not recorded |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | Not recorded |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | Not recorded |
| Young per litter or clutch | Not recorded |
| Conservation status | Endangered (IUCN) |
| Recorded in | 49 countries |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Elasmobranchii
- order: Myliobatiformes
- family: Myliobatidae
- genus: Mobula
- species: *Mobula birostris* (Walbaum, 1792)

Synonyms: *Brachioptilon hamiltoni*, *Cephaloptera stelligera*, *Cephalopterus manta*, *Cephalopterus vampyrus*, *Ceratoptera alfredi*, *Ceratoptera ehrenbergi*, *Ceratoptera johnii*, *Manta americana*, *Manta birostris*, *Manta brevirostris*, *Manta ehrenbergii*, *Manta hamiltoni*, *Manta raya*, *Raja birostris*, *Raja manatia*

## Where it has been recorded

Countries with openly licensed sighting records on GBIF (records in brackets). Recorded sightings, not a definitive range.

Ecuador (1185), United States (275), Peru (208), Mexico (134), French Guiana (118), Indonesia (56), Brazil (55), French Polynesia (33), Philippines (33), Costa Rica (27), Mozambique (26), Australia (20), Seychelles (20), South Africa (18), Japan (14), Panama (13), Maldives (11), New Zealand (11), New Caledonia (10), Micronesia (7), India (7), Mauritius (7), Egypt (6), Réunion (6), Colombia (5), Taiwan (5), Guadeloupe (4), Kiribati (4), Palau (4), Thailand (4), Mayotte (4), St. Barthélemy (3), France (3), Guinea (3), St. Martin (3), Myanmar (Burma) (3), Wallis & Futuna (3), Belize (2), Spain (2), French Southern Territories (2), Canada (1), Cape Verde (1), Czechia (1), United Kingdom (1), Marshall Islands (1), Portugal (1), Sudan (1), Senegal (1), Yemen (1)

## Common questions

### Where does the giant oceanic manta ray live?

The giant oceanic manta ray has openly licensed sighting records from 49 countries on GBIF. The most records come from Ecuador, United States, Peru, Mexico and French Guiana. These are recorded sightings, not a definitive range.

### Is the giant oceanic manta ray endangered?

The giant oceanic manta ray is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.

### What kind of animal is the giant oceanic manta ray?

The giant oceanic manta ray (Mobula birostris) belongs to the family Myliobatidae in the order Myliobatiformes.

## Sources

- [GBIF Backbone Taxonomy](https://www.gbif.org/dataset/d7dddbf4-2cf0-4f39-9b2a-bb099caae36c), CC BY 4.0, live API 2026-11-11. GBIF Secretariat. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org.
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/), CC0 1.0, live API 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata, the free knowledge base.
- [GBIF occurrence aggregates (CC0 and CC BY records only)](https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search), CC BY 4.0, live API 2026-11-11. GBIF.org occurrence search, country facet counts restricted to CC0 1.0 and CC BY 4.0 records.
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/), Per file, live API 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Licence and creator recorded per file.
- [English Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/), CC BY-SA 4.0, live API 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.

Cite as: Giant oceanic manta ray (Mobula birostris). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/giant-oceanic-manta-ray