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Project Noah Nature School
Manta birostris
The manta ray has a unique body shape that includes an extremely broad head with an enormous, wide mouth flanked by two broad, flexible, fleshy cephalic lobes. Its upper body surface is predominantly black in color with some white or gray markings. Its underside is white. This is the largest of all rays weighing up to 6000 lbs. and growing to an average “wing span” of 13 feet as an adult. At birth, the width of its wings is about 5 feet. The maximum known width of a manta is 26 feet. The manta ray is primarily a plankton feeder, but also consumes small and moderate-sized fishes. During feeding the manta ray repeatedly executes reverse somersaults under water and also occasionally breaks the surface. This species does not have a stinging spine and is generally harmless to humans.
Photographed at the Georgia Aquarium, Atlanta
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