Common
Names: Bentfin
devil ray, Smoothtail mobula, Thurston's devil ray.
Latin
Name: Mobula thurstoni
Family:
Mobulidae
Identification:
Anterior
margin of pectoral fins have a double bend. Wing tips
relatively broad. Dorsal fin has a white tip. Tail spines absent. Ventrum
white with two black patches.
Size:
Maximum
disc width 1.8m. Disc width at birth 63cm.
Habitat:
Most
common in inshore waters from the surface to 100m or more.
Abundance
and distribution: Circumtropical.
Sea
of
Cortez
to
Southern
Mexico
west to
Senegal
and
South
Africa
also reported from the
Red Sea
,
Indonesia
,
and the
Gulf
of
Thailand
.
Behavior: Usually
seen free swimming singly or in very small groups. Leaps clear of the water
sometimes somersaulting. Feeds on planktonic organisms. May rest at surface with
wingtips protruding or rest on bottom.
Reproduction:
Mating
in the
Sea
of
Cortez
occurs in spring.
Observations:
Photographs:
Los
Morros Reef, Cabo Pulmo, Baja.
Similar
species: Japanese
devil ray – Mobula japonica, Pygmy
devil ray – Mobula munkiana,
Sicklefin devil ray – Mobula tarapanaca,
Lesser devil ray – Mobula hypostoma.
Reaction
to divers:
The Bentfin Devil ray moves
away when pursued. As illustrated by the poor photographs; this is a difficult
ray to get close to.
Diving logistics: This
is a sporadically seen ray. It can sometimes be encountered by divers in the
lower Cortez.
Other diving locations submitted by readers:
Further
reading:
Reef
Sharks and Rays of the World. Scott W. Michael. Sea Challengers.
Sharks
and Rays - Elasmobranch Guide of the World. Ralf M. Hennemann. IKAN.
