Giant Manta

• It has the largest brain relative to body size of any fish in the world.
• It has the highest brain-to-body ratio of any known fish.
• It produces just 4 to 7 pups in its entire lifetime, one of the slowest rates among sharks and rays.
• It feeds by filtering zooplankton with its specialised cephalic lobes.
• It is the largest ray in the world, reaching up to 9 metres across the disc.
• It has only one pup every 2 to 5 years, which leaves it highly vulnerable to overfishing.
• anatomíaRelative to its body, it has one of the largest and most complex brains of any known fish.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - cartilaginous skeleton (fish)

Habitat & environment

Tropical and subtropical ocean waters worldwide, near reefs and seamounts and in the open sea

Birth weight

1.4 m disc width; ~9 kg at birth

Size at birth

1.4 m disc width at birth, already looking like a miniature adult

Sexual maturity

8-10 years

Gestation / incubation

~12-13 months

Litter / clutch size

1 pup (rarely 2), with 2-5 years between births

Sources consulted: Animalia.bio; A-Z Animals; Dimensions.com; Australian Geographic; Manta Watch NZ; Namubak; Manta Trust; Grokipedia (Giant oceanic manta ray); NOAA Fisheries