People often confuse manta rays with other species that are easier to spot in the ocean, such as stingrays or eagle rays. But mantas are a unique type of ray. They’re the largest in the ocean, and their body structure has special features that help them survive and thrive in the water.
Over the years, we’ve written about different functions and body parts of the manta ray, from how they eat to how they sense the world. This article brings all the pieces together, giving you an overview of how manta rays are built and what each part helps them do.
What kind of animal is a manta ray?
Manta rays have wide, diamond-shaped bodies and triangular fins. Seen from above, they resemble a dark, drifting cloak moving through the water. That’s where they get their name: “manta” means blanket or cloak in Spanish.
Mantas are cartilaginous fish, which means they don’t have bones. Instead, their skeletons are made of cartilage, the same material we humans have in our noses and ears. That makes them lighter and more flexible than bony fish.
They belong to a group called elasmobranchs, which includes sharks, skates, and other rays. They’re also fish, not mammals, even though they look and behave differently from most fish we’re used to.
There are three species of manta rays:
- Reef manta rays (Mobula alfredi) live near coastlines and coral reefs, returning to the same cleaning stations repeatedly. They typically reach up to 11.5 feet (3.5 meters) across.
- Pelagic manta rays (Mobula birostris) roam the open ocean and are the largest, with wingspans that can exceed 20–23 feet (6–7 meters).
- Atlantic manta rays (Mobula yarae) live in the Atlantic Ocean. They’re similar in appearance to the pelagic species.
Manta rays are often confused with stingrays, which have a similar shape but a very different lifestyle (and a stinger). They’re also closely related to devil rays, or mobulas, which are smaller but share many anatomical features.
Wing-like fins and graceful movement
Manta rays don’t move like most fish. Instead of wiggling from side to side, they slowly flap their enormous pectoral fins, gliding through the water in long, sweeping strokes that resemble underwater flight.
They are built for cruising and can cover vast distances, especially the pelagic species, which travel across open oceans. When needed, they can reach speeds of up to 22 miles per hour (35 km/h), although they usually move at a slower, energy-efficient pace.
Just like tuna and some species of sharks, manta rays need to keep swimming to survive. If they stop, water won’t pass over their gills, and they won’t get the oxygen they need. Learn more about this phenomenon here.
Researchers and engineers have taken inspiration from manta rays when developing new underwater robots, drones, and even aircraft components. Their steady, undulating motion is both efficient and elegant. If you’re curious how science and design are catching up with nature, this article about manta ray-inspired technology dives into it.
The head and skull of a manta ray
The head of a manta ray is arguably its most distinctive feature. A manta ray’s “skull” is made entirely of cartilage, making it both lightweight and flexible; essential qualities for an animal that swims at speed with its huge mouth wide open to feed.
The structure of a manta ray’s head is designed around function: supporting a wide, flexible mouth optimized for filter feeding. The jaw extends to create a cavernous funnel for water and plankton. This cartilaginous framework also makes the mouth mobile and responsive during feeding.
The brain of a manta ray is proportionally large for a fish, and the cartilaginous skull is flexible enough to protect it against the constant water pressure changes as mantas dive to different depths.
The skull also supports their unique cephalic fins (those horn-like projections), which are actually modified parts of the pectoral fins that have evolved to coordinate with the head during feeding. When you see a manta ray swimming with its cephalic fins unfurled, you’re watching a beautifully integrated system where skull, jaw, and fins work together as one feeding machine.
How manta rays eat and digest their food
Despite their size, manta rays feed on plankton, the ocean’s smallest form of marine life. They’re filter feeders, which means they swim with their mouths open and let water flow through, capturing food as they go.
Instead of chasing prey like other large marine animals, mantas use techniques to capture as much plankton as possible. They often twirl or loop through patches of plankton to keep the buffet coming, a behavior we explore more in this article.
A manta ray has a cephalic fin on either side of its mouth: flexible, horn-shaped appendages that curl and uncurl while feeding. These fins help direct water (and food) into the mouth. Think of them like built-in scoops that unfurl mid-meal.
Once water and plankton enter the mouth, gill rakers act like sieves, trapping food particles and letting filtered water flow over the gills.
Not everything that enters a manta ray’s mouth is plankton or water. Sand, debris, and other non-edible particles often get swept in with the current. Some of it gets filtered out immediately, while the rest travels through their long, coiled digestive tract, designed to extract nutrients as efficiently as possible. Whatever remains is eventually expelled back into the ocean.
Mantas vomit up unwanted material, often mid-swim, and their waste is released in a spectacular, cloudy stream.
→ Watch this video that shows how mantas poop and vomit
Reproduction and life cycle
Manta ray reproduction begins with a courtship train, where several males follow a female closely, each one trying to keep up with her twists, turns, and speed. Eventually, one of the males manages to align with the female and mate with her. Males have a pair of claspers (modified pelvic fins) used to transfer sperm during reproduction.
You can read more about the manta mating process here.
Once fertilized, the embryo develops inside the mother for about 12 to 13 months. While manta rays are fish, they don’t technically lay eggs. Instead, they give birth to live pups, one at a time. This is known as ovoviviparity, which means the embryo develops inside an egg that stays inside the mother’s body until it hatches; the pup is then born fully formed.
At birth, a reef manta pup typically measures around 2 to 3 feet (0.6 to 0.9 meters) across, while a pelagic manta pup can be as large as 6 feet (1.8 meters). Since it’s been folded inside the uterus for months, the pup looks like a rolled-up burrito right after birth. The folds and wrinkles don’t disappear completely, but they gradually stretch out as the manta grows and can still be faintly seen in adults. X
→ See more pictures of a manta ray pup from birth to adulthood in this article.
From the moment it’s born, the pup is fully independent: swimming, feeding, and figuring out life on its own. A mini-manta ready to go!
Eyes, nostrils, and other senses
Manta rays have eyes on the sides of their heads, giving them a broad field of vision and the ability to spot predators or divers from various angles. Opposite the eye and above the cephalic fin, at the start of their mouth, are their nostrils, or nares, which help them detect chemical cues in the water. In simple words, this means that they can smell.
On their ventral side (the underside), they have electroreceptors called “ampullae of Lorenzini”, which let them sense the weak electrical fields emitted by other creatures. This is helpful when visibility is low or when navigating long distances.
Manta rays have spiracles (small holes located behind their eyes) that channel water into their inner ear structures, enabling them to pick up vibrations from various sources.
Then there’s the skin. Manta rays are covered in dermal denticles, tiny, tooth-like structures that reduce drag and may have sensory functions, too. These structures also give manta rays their slightly sandpapery texture. In our upcoming article, we will go into more detail about manta ray skin, denticles, spiracles, and nostrils.
→ Read more about the seven senses of manta rays here!
The markings of a manta ray
The underside of each manta ray (called the “ventral side”) displays a distinctive pattern of dark spots, patches, and markings on a white or cream-colored background. These markings are like fingerprints: no two manta rays have exactly the same pattern.
Some individuals show bold and outspoken patterns, while others have more subtle spotting. They form during early development and remain relatively stable throughout the manta’s life, though they can fade slightly with age or become more pronounced due to scarring or environmental factors.
Some manta rays develop additional marks over time from encounters with boat propellers, fishing lines, or natural interactions with reefs. While unfortunate, these acquired marks sometimes become part of their unique identification signature.
Those who work with or encounter manta rays regularly use markings and scars to identify and track individual manta rays over time. Researchers create photo databases to monitor populations and understand migration patterns. The contrast in the ventral markings between the white belly and dark spots makes these patterns easy to photograph and catalog.
→ See our photo library of manta rays along the Kona coast here
The dorsal side (top) of manta rays is typically much darker (usually dark gray or brownish in reef mantas, and black in pelagic manta rays), providing camouflage when viewed from above against the deep ocean. This counter-shading is common in marine animals: dark on top, light on bottom, making them harder to spot by both predators from below and prey from above.
→ Learn more about how scientists use these patterns to tell manta rays apart here.
Organs and internal systems
Under their smooth surface, manta rays have internal organs supporting everything from buoyancy to long-distance travel.
One of the largest organs inside a manta ray is the liver. It takes up a significant portion of their body cavity and serves several purposes: storing energy, helping regulate buoyancy, and supporting overall metabolism.
The manta ray heart has two chambers and pumps oxygen-rich blood from the gills throughout the body. While simple compared to a mammal’s heart, it’s perfectly adapted for their slow but constant cruising through open water.
Manta rays have relatively large brains for their body size, among the largest of all fish. Their brain is especially developed in areas linked to learning, memory, and problem-solving. Some scientists believe mantas may be capable of recognition, spatial navigation, and even social interaction at a higher level than most fish. Here’s what we know about the intelligence of manta rays.
The tail of a manta ray
A manta ray’s tail is long, thin, and whip-like, but ultimately harmless. It usually measures around one-third of the manta’s body length.
Unlike their powerful pectoral fins, the tail doesn’t play a major role in swimming. Instead, it trails behind like a rudder, possibly helping with minor steering adjustments and balance, or as a detection for predators approaching from behind..
The key difference between manta ray tails and those of their relatives is what’s missing: the stinger. While stingrays and eagle rays have sharp, venomous barbs on their tails that they use for defense, manta rays have no such weapon. Their tails are smooth and flexible, ending in a simple point.
Unfortunately, the confusion between manta rays and their stinger-equipped relatives has led to unnecessary fear. Many people assume all rays are dangerous, but manta rays are among the most gentle creatures in the ocean.
→ Read more about the differences between manta rays, stingrays, and eagle rays here.
Do manta rays have…
We get these questions a lot, so here’s a quick breakdown:
- Do manta rays have teeth? Yes, manta rays have hundreds of tiny peg-like teeth arranged in bands on the lower jaw. They’re not sharp and don’t help with eating or chewing.
- Do manta rays have bones? Still no. Like sharks and other elasmobranchs, manta rays have skeletons made entirely of cartilage.
- Do manta rays have barbs or a stinger? Definitely not. Unlike stingrays and eagle rays, mantas don’t have stingers or barbs. They’re completely harmless to humans.
Learning more as time goes by
Manta rays are so much more than giant fish. Every part of their body plays a role in helping them survive and thrive in the ocean.
We’re still learning more about them every year, and that’s part of what makes them so fascinating. The more we understand how manta rays are built and how they live, the better we can protect them and the ecosystems they inhabit.
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