Reef manta ray
Mobula alfredi
Recently reclassified: described as Manta alfredi (split from Manta birostris in 2009), then moved to Mobula in 2018. Older sources call all Maldivian mantas Manta birostris.
- English
- Reef manta ray
- Scientific
- Mobula alfredi
- Dhivehi
- En madi
- Group
- Rays
- Maximum size
- Disc width up to about 4.5-5 m
- Depth and habitat
- Coastal reefs, lagoons and atoll channels, surface to about 120 m
- IUCN status
- VU · VulnerableVulnerable (VU), assessed 2018CITES Appendix II
Description
A huge plankton-feeding ray with wide triangular wings and two paddle-like cephalic fins that unroll to funnel food into its broad, front-facing mouth. The back is black with pale shoulder patches; the belly is white with a unique pattern of dark spots used to identify individuals. Mantas visit cleaning stations on reefs to have parasites removed, and feed in surface plankton blooms, sometimes in 'cyclone' chains. They reproduce very slowly, usually one pup every few years.
In the Maldives
The Maldives holds the world's largest known reef manta population (thousands of individuals photo-identified by the Manta Trust's Maldivian Manta Ray Project). Hanifaru Bay in Baa Atoll (a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve) is famous for feeding aggregations of over 100 mantas in the southwest monsoon, roughly June to November. All rays have been protected in the Maldives since 2014.
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Mobula-alfredi.html
- fishbase.se /comnames/CommonNamesList.php?ID=65179&GenusName=Mobula&SpeciesName=al
- saveourseas.com /update/all-ray-species-now-protected-in-the-maldives/
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Dharavandhoo_Thila_-_Manata_Black_Pearl.JPG
Dhivehi name source: FishBase common names (country: Maldives) lists 'En madi' under Mobula birostris; that record predates the 2009 split, when all mantas (including Maldivian reef mantas) were filed under one species, so the name applies to mantas generally. No sourced Thaana spelling found.