No photo available
Sicklefin devil ray
Mobula tarapacana
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Sicklefin devil ray
- Scientific
- Mobula tarapacana
- Dhivehi
- No recorded Dhivehi name
- Group
- Rays
- Maximum size
- Disc width up to about 3.3 m; commonly 2.5 m; max. published weight 350 kg
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 0 to 1896 m (usually 0 to 20 m)
- IUCN status
- CR · Critically EndangeredCritically Endangered (CR), assessed 2025CITES Appendix II
Description
A large devil ray with strongly swept-back, sickle-shaped pectoral fins and short head fins; it is olive-green to brownish above and white below, with a distinctive greyish rear underside. Reaching about 3.3 m across, it is mostly oceanic and feeds on plankton and small fish. It is listed as Critically Endangered because of heavy catches for its gill plates.
In the Maldives
All rays, including devil rays, are protected in the Maldives (since 2014).
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Mobula-tarapacana.html
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Mobula_tarapacana.png
Dhivehi name source: No Dhivehi name found in MRS 1997 (available chapters), FishBase (country: Maldives) or Dhivehi Wikipedia.