Reef manta ray
Mobula alfredi
Reef mantas return to feeding and cleaning sites, but every population moves differently. Stay still, give space and let the manta choose the encounter.
Vulnerable (IUCN, 2018) means it is at high risk of extinction in the wild.
Photos show the species, not always the places on this page.
Length
Usually 3 to 3.5 m (9.8 to 11.5 ft) across the disc; largest recorded about 4.5 m (14.8 ft)
Weight
Not reliably measured
Next to a person
A typical adult is roughly twice as wide, wingtip to wingtip, as an adult person is tall
What it eats
Mainly zooplankton (tiny drifting animals), filtered from the water. In some places they also feed on plankton that rises up from deeper water.
Around people
Calm, give space
How it lives
Reef mantas filter zooplankton from the water, often in shallow coastal and reef waters. They visit reef cleaning stations, where small fish remove parasites, and although they are often alone, they gather at cleaning, feeding and courtship sites. They breed very slowly: pregnancy lasts about 12 to 13 months, and the time between pups differs between populations and can be long.
Where it goes
How far reef mantas travel differs strongly between populations. Some stay close to particular islands and reefs, while others travel hundreds of kilometres. In Seychelles, one tracked manta swam an estimated 1,632 km in 180 days and still stayed within the country's waters.
We only draw a journey on the map when scientists have tracked it or clearly documented it. For this animal we have not found one yet.
Populations
Residency and movement vary strongly between populations. How mantas use sites for cleaning, feeding and courtship differs from place to place, so each area, such as Nusa Penida, the Maldives, Raja Ampat or Komodo, is best described from its own research.
Meet it respectfully
Enter the water quietly and never chase, touch, block, feed or crowd a manta. Stay at the edge of cleaning stations, not on top of them, and let the manta choose how close to come. Local codes in many places ask swimmers to enter about 10 m away and stay at least 3 m back, and research in the Maldives found mantas react least when divers stay more than 3 m away and off the station. Where local rules are stricter, those rules apply.
Fun fact
Tap the bulb to light it up.
At cleaning stations, small fish remove parasites, bacteria and damaged skin, and researchers also record social and courtship behaviour there.
In a 14-year Maldives study, 90% of recorded courtship happened at cleaning sites.
The spot pattern on a manta's belly is distinctive enough to identify each individual.
Tagged reef mantas in New Caledonia dived deeper than 300 m, and one reached 672 m.
Reef manta ray 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
Chagos (British Indian Ocean Territory)
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Egypt
Fiji
French Polynesia
Indonesia
Japan
Maldives
Marshall Islands
Mayotte
Micronesia (FSM)
Mozambique
New Caledonia
Palau
Philippines
Solomon Islands
South Africa
Sudan
United StatesRead more about the reef manta ray
Sources for this page
- Manta Trust, 2026
- IUCN Red List, 2018
- FishBase, 2026
- Fishes of Australia / Marshall et al., 2019
- Stevens, Hawkins & Roberts, 2018
- Peel et al., 2020
- Pelletier, 2018, via CMS
- Manta Trust, 2026
Facts checked 26 September 2026. Photos: Unsplash licence, or Creative Commons as shown on each photo.
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