Mobula tarapacana

(Philippi, 1892)


Chilean devil ray
Classification: Elasmobranchii Myliobatiformes Mobulidae

Reference of the original description
Philippi, R.A. (1892)
Algunos peces de Chile. Las rayas, Callorrhynchus i Orthagoriscus Chilenos. Anales del Museo Nacional de Chile. Primera seccion, Zoología, 3, 1–17

Image of the original description

Cephaloptera tarapacana Philippi, 1892, Pl. III, Fig. 2

Synonyms / new combinations and misspellings
Cephaloptera tarapacana, Mobula cf. tarapacana, Mobula coilloti, Mobula formosana, Mobula tarapanaca

Types
Mobula tarapacana
Holotype: XXXX: No types known;
Mobula coilloti
Holotype: MNHN: 1965-0144;
Mobula formosana
Holotype: TFRI: 2911;


Description :


Citation: Mobula tarapacana (Philippi, 1892): In: Database of modern sharks, rays and chimaeras, www.shark-references.com, World Wide Web electronic publication, Version 04/2024

Please send your images of "Mobula tarapacana" to info@shark-references.com

Mobula tarapacana (Philippi, 1892), 3 m disc width, male, 12 Mile Reef, Bermagui, New South Wales, Australia, © Anton Vogiatzis, Australia
Common names
spa Diablo gigante de Guinea, spa Manta cornuada, spa Manta cornuda, spa Raya cornuda, fra \(T\) Diable géant de Guinée, fra \(T\) Mante chilienne, eng Chilean devil ray, eng Devil ray, eng Greater Guinean mobula, eng Sicklefin devil ray, eng Spiny mobula

Short Description
A large devil ray with a long head bearing short head fins; dorsal fin plain, and pectoral fins with strongly curved, swept-back tips; upper disc densely covered with small, pointed denticles and tail shorter than disc with no spine [536]. Dark blue [536], olive-green to brownish above; ventral side white anteriorly, grey posteriorly, with an irregular but distinct line of demarcation [20053]. No caudal fin [536].

Distribution
Circumtropical, recorded from scattered localities. Western Atlantic: off Venezuela. Eastern Atlantic: Côte d"quot; Ivoire and South Africa. Reported from Cape Verde [20238]. Western Indian Ocean: northwestern Red Sea. Western Pacific: Japan, Taiwan, and probably tropical Australia. Eastern Pacific: Gulf of California and Chile.
first record: 12 Mile Reef, Bermagui, New South Wales, Australia [24209];

Human uses
fisheries: subsistence fisheries

Biology
Exhibit ovoviparity (aplacental viviparity), with embryos feeding initially on yolk, then receiving additional nourishment from the mother by indirect absorption of uterine fluid enriched with mucus, fat or protein through specialised structures [733]. Mostly oceanic, but also in coastal waters. Solitary, sometimes forms groups [1658]. Feeds on small fishes [536] and planktonic crustaceans (Ref. 9911).

Size / Weight / Age
328 cm WD (male/unsexed; [2539]); 305.2 cm WD (female); max. published weight: 350.0 kg (Ref. 50641)

Habitat
reef-associated; oceanodromous [17660]; marine; depth range 0 - 30 m (Ref. 58047)

Remarks
shark-references Species-ID=3765; CITES: (see: Protected Species for more details) Convention on International Trade in Endangered Speciesof Wild Fauna and Flora annex: II; Council Regulation 2017/160 annex: B

Parasites (arranged by Jürgen Pollerspöck)
Copepoda
  • Entepherus laminipes Bere, 1936 [15950]
  • Eudactylina vaquetillae Deets, 1994 (nomen nudum) [17867]

Isopoda
  • Gnathia trimaculata Coetzee, Smit, Grutter & Davies, 2009 [17188]