Mobula mobular
Devil ray from warm and temperate waters, with records in Brazil, Chile, and from Mexico to Peru. Capture is prohibited in Brazil: if you hook it by accident, release it right away.
Also called: jamanta-de-espinho, manta de espina, manta arpón, spinetail devil ray
The giant devil ray is a large mobulid of the family Mobulidae, with lobes in front of the head and a spine on the tail. It reaches 520 cm of disc width and weighs up to 1.5 t. It lives on the continental shelf and near oceanic islands, usually down to 200 m. It feeds on small crustaceans, such as euphausiids, and small fish, which it filters with its gill plates. It is ovoviviparous, with one pup per litter, born at 85 to 92 cm. It is bycatch of skipjack tuna gillnets, and its gill plates have high value. It is on the national list of threatened species as vulnerable, with capture prohibited in Brazil.
Essential profile. Identification, where it occurs and rules, with data from FishBase and the cited regulations. Season, time of day, technique and bait are added once we have a good source for the spinetail devil ray; in the meantime, see the similar species.
Flattened devil ray, with lobes in front of the head, a tail with a spine and small spines along its base. It is larger than the small devil ray (Mobula munkiana), which reaches 220 cm. The females recorded reach 240 cm. It may be found near oceanic islands and at the surface.
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Each card shows the day's index (0 to 100) and, below it, a strip with the index for each hour, from 0h to 23h. from poor to excellent.
Essential profile: the index uses a general fish model (weather, sun, moon and tide), without a season or time of day specific to this species.
Occurs worldwide, in warm and temperate waters. In Latin America there are records in Brazil (São Paulo coast), Chile, Cuba, Central America and from Mexico to Peru.
Habitat: Surface and continental shelf, near oceanic islands, usually down to 200 meters deep.
coast
Summary of the regulations we found, with the source for each. Rules change; before keeping or transporting fish, check with the state environmental agency.
Conservation: On the national list of threatened species as VU. Global IUCN assessment: CR.
The national list (Portaria GM/MMA nº 1.667/2026) classifies the species as VU. Under Portaria GM/MMA nº 1.666/2026 (art. 3º), VU, EN and CR species have full protection: catch, transport, storage, processing and sale are banned. If you hook one by accident, release it at once, handling it as little as possible.
Source: Portaria GM/MMA nº 1.666/2026, art. 3º, and Portaria GM/MMA nº 1.667/2026
Many sharks and rays are on the national list (CR, EN or VU), with catching, keeping and transport prohibited, including those listed here. Species added to the list only in 2026 follow the 180-day deadline (until about Oct 25, 2026). If unsure of the species, release it.
Source: Portaria GM/MMA nº 1.666/2026 (art. 3º) and nº 1.667/2026 (Annex I)
Protected in Brazil: if you hook it by accident, release it right away. It is a large animal: don't try to pull it out of the water, and cut the line close to the hook. Don't touch the tail, which has a spine.
Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.01, b = 3.04; FishBase (relação peso-comprimento bayesiana, estimativa)). It's an average: a fat or lean fish can vary by 10% to 20%.
estimated weight
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Essential profile: size, length-weight, depth, countries and conservation come from FishBase and the cited regulations, and the texts were written from those sources. Season, time of day, sensitivities, technique and baits and lures are not included yet, because we did not find a good source for this species.
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