Oceanic manta ray (giant manta)
Mobula birostris
Oceanic mantas are ocean wanderers that may come up to feed or to be cleaned. Each encounter is a quiet gift, never a promise. Give space and never touch.
Endangered (IUCN, 2020) means it is at very high risk of extinction in the wild.
Photos show the species, not always the places on this page.
Length
Usually 4 to 5 m (13 to 16 ft) across (disc width); largest reliably measured about 6.7 to 6.8 m (22 ft)
Weight
Typical weight not reliably measured; published maximum estimates range from about 2,000 to 3,000 kg (4,400 to 6,600 lb)
Next to a person
A typical adult is about 2.5 to 3 times as wide as a person is tall
What it eats
Zooplankton such as krill, copepods, mysids and shrimp larvae; some studies also report small fish.
Around people
Calm, give space
How it lives
The oceanic manta spends much of its time in the open ocean, diving hundreds of metres to feed in deep layers of plankton. It is mostly solitary, but gathers at cleaning sites and to feed and mate, and visits cleaning stations less often than reef mantas. Females give birth to one pup after about a year of pregnancy, with estimates of 2 to 3 or 4 to 5 years between births.
Where it goes
Many populations stay close to home. Tags at Revillagigedo and Bahía de Banderas in Mexico showed no movement between the two. Some rays do travel far: one tagged in northern Peru swam about 1,300 km to the Galápagos and back, and photo matches link Mozambique with South Africa.
Populations
Coastal Ecuador and Peru hold the largest known population, with an estimated 22,316 rays; 2,803 were identified around Isla de la Plata from 2005 to 2018. More than 1,300 are known from Revillagigedo, Mexico. At Tofo, Mozambique, sightings fell 92.5% from 2003 to 2023. Mantas of the Caribbean and western Atlantic coasts, such as off Florida, Yucatán and Tobago, are now mostly referred to a separate species, the Atlantic manta (Mobula yarae).
Meet it respectfully
Never touch, ride, chase, feed or block a manta, and never grab the head fins it uses to feed. Enter the water quietly, approach slowly from the side and let the manta choose how close to come. Local codes in many places ask swimmers to stay at least 3 m away and boats to slow to idle nearby; follow the rules of each place.
Fun fact
Tap the bulb to light it up.
The oceanic manta is the world's largest ray; exceptional individuals reach about 6.8 m across.
The markings on its belly can be used to identify individuals.
Tracking in 2025 recorded dives deeper than 500 m, which scientists think may help the rays gather cues for finding their way.
Off Ecuador, 2,803 oceanic mantas were identified by their belly spots from 2005 to 2018, and the whole population may be about 22,000 rays.
Source: Harty et al., 2022, Marine Ecology Progress Series, oceanic mantas of coastal Ecuador
At Revillagigedo, Mexico, the same manta has been re-sighted after 29 years, a longevity record for the species.
In Bahía de Banderas, Mexico, 66 tagged mantas were detected most from January to March and again from May to early October.
Source: Domínguez-Sánchez et al., 2023, Marine Biology, oceanic mantas in Bahía de Banderas
In the western Atlantic, many mantas once called oceanic mantas belong to the Atlantic manta, Mobula yarae, described in 2025. Oceanic mantas still live in the Atlantic too, for example around the Azores.
Source: Bucair et al., 2025, Environmental Biology of Fishes 108: 1801-1835, description of Mobula yarae
Follow its journey
Watch it travel. Every line comes from satellite tracking or documented research, and the source is named.
StartEndJourney (the line joins documented areas; real paths vary)
Oceanic manta ray (giant manta) in the Ocean Atlas
Places we have researched where this animal is recorded. It is never guaranteed, and some places are for watching from the boat only.
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Australia
Brazil
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Colombia
Costa Rica
Ecuador
Egypt
French Guiana
French Polynesia
Indonesia
Japan
Madagascar
Maldives
Mauritius
Mexico
Micronesia (FSM)
Mozambique
Myanmar
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Palau
Panama
Peru
Philippines
Portugal
Seychelles
South Africa
Sri Lanka
Suriname
Thailand
United StatesRead more about the oceanic manta ray (giant manta)
Sources for this page
- Manta Trust, 2026
- NOAA Fisheries, 2018
- Marine Megafauna Foundation, 2020
- Manta Trust, 2026
- Harty et al., 2022, Marine Ecology Progress Series, oceanic mantas of coastal Ecuador
- IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group, ISRA factsheet Isla de la Plata
- NOAA Fisheries, 2024, Recovery Status Review for the Giant Manta Ray
- Stewart et al., 2016, Biological Conservation, spatial ecology of oceanic mantas
- Domínguez-Sánchez et al., 2023, Marine Biology, oceanic mantas in Bahía de Banderas
- Manta Trust, Mexico Revillagigedo project
- Venables et al., 2024, IOTC paper, declines in mobulid sightings at Tofo, Mozambique
- Andrzejaczek et al., 2021, Ecological Solutions and Evidence, oceanic mantas off northern Peru
- Marine Megafauna Foundation, 2025, Mobula yarae described as the Atlantic manta
- Save Our Seas Foundation, 2025, Mobulids of the Azores
- Bucair et al., 2025, Environmental Biology of Fishes 108: 1801-1835, description of Mobula yarae
Facts checked 26 September 2026. Photos: Unsplash licence, or Creative Commons as shown on each photo.
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