Species: Mobula tarapacana, Chilean Devil Ray, Sicklefin Devil Ray

Mobula tarapacana (Philippi, 1892)

Sicklefin Devil Ray, Chilean Devil Ray

Head projecting, relatively narrow, neck long; front edge of snout between horns strongly concave; large triangular "wings" (pectoral fin flaps) that are strongly curved backwards; head horns relatively short (width 60% of length); back with a central ridge; spiracle an elongate longitudinal slit above base of pectoral, with a ridge above it; mouth on underside of head; teeth on both jaws, relatively large and in mosaic pattern, spread across ~70% of mouth width, 94-135 upper rows, 107-153 lower rows, teeth ~hexagonal, with pitted tips and comblike rear edge; filter plates of gills fused along their length, with broadly rounded end lobes; tail relatively short (<1/2 disc width), scaly, without spine; body densely covered with minute thick, needle-like denticles.

Back brown to olivaceous green; no dark collar between eyes; dorsal fin dark; underside of head & area back to1st gill cover dark grey; underside white at front and pectorals abruptly grey at rear.

Grows to a disc width of at least 370 cm and a weight of 400 kg.

Habitat: pelagic coastal waters.

Depth: 0-1896 m.

Circumtropical; the northern Gulf of Mexico and the SE Caribbean.