Mobula

Mobula
Temporal range: 34–0Ma

Early Oligocene to Present[1]

Mobula sp breaching, Baja California
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Elasmobranchii
Superorder: Batoidea
Order: Myliobatiformes
Family: Myliobatidae
Subfamily: Mobulinae
Genus: Mobula
Rafinesque, 1810

Mobula is a genus of ray in the family Myliobatidae (eagle rays).[2] Their appearance is similar to that of manta rays, which are in the same family. Species of this genera are often collectively referred to as "flying mobula" or simply "flying rays", due to their propensity for breaching, sometimes in a spectacular manner. The devil fish can attain a disc width of up to 5.2 m (17 ft) and can probably weigh over a ton,[3] second only to the Manta species in size. Despite their size, little is known about this genus, much of it being from anecdotal accounts.

Mobula rays in the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortés) have been reported to breach as high as 2 m above the sea.[4]

Species

Fishbase recognizes the following species:

Gallery

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Sepkoski, Jack (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera (Chondrichthyes entry)". Bulletins of American Paleontology 364: p.560. Retrieved 2008-01-09.
  2. ↑ Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2006). Species of Mobula in FishBase. February 2006 version.
  3. ↑ http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=7618
  4. ↑ Paul and Michael Albert (26 June 2005). "The Flying Mobulas of the Sea of Cortés".

References

External links