Three species of huge rays of warm seas, with triangular fins and horn-shaped flaps by the mouth. They filter-feed on plankton and have one of the highest brain-to-body ratios of any fish.
Quick answers
What is it?Fish
Carnivore?Yes
Dangerous?No
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Daytime
Hibernates?No
Kept as a pet?No
Do people eat it?In places
Caught for meat and products; the flesh is edible but thought less tasty than other fish.
At a glance
Found inOceans
HabitatOpen ocean, Coast
ColoursBlack, White
SizeHuge
LengthUp to 7 m across (giant manta)
LegsNone
Covered inSkin
Lives ingroups
Lives for40–50 years
Can swim
In the wild
- Where it lives
- Warm temperate, subtropical and tropical oceans.
- What it eats
- Plankton, filtered from the water.
- Conservation
- Vulnerable (IUCN Red List)
Did you know
Up to seven metres across, with one of the biggest brains for its size of any fish.
Like whales, mantas leap out of the water, and nobody knows why.
Often confused with
- Stingray
Mantas belong to the same order as stingrays; they filter-feed on plankton.
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