Shorefishes of the Greater Caribbean online information system

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

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head: narrow, long neck
horns short
ridge along back
wings strongly curved
no dark collar between eyes
tail short, scaly, no spine
mouth under snout
underside: dark around sides of neck; front of pectorals white, rear abruptly grey

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.


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Salinity
  • Marine
  • Marine Only
Inshore/Offshore
  • In & Offshore
  • Inshore
  • Offshore
Water Column Position
  • Near Surface
  • Surface
  • Water column only
Habitat
  • Water column
  • Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
FishBase Habitat
  • Pelagic
Feeding Group
  • Data
  • Planktivore
Diet
  • Data
  • Zooplankton
  • Bony fishes
  • Pelagic crustacea
  • Pelagic fish eggs
Egg Type
  • Data
  • Live birth
  • No pelagic larva
  • No pelagic phase
Global Endemism
  • All species
  • Circumtropical ( Indian + Pacific + Atlantic Oceans)
  • Greater Caribbean non-endemic
  • Transisthmian (East Pacific + Atlantic of Central America)
Regional Endemism
  • Continent
  • Continent only
  • GC non-endemic
  • All species
Residency
  • Resident
Climate Zone
  • Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
  • Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
  • Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
IUCN Red List
  • Endangered
  • Listed
CITES
  • Appendix II
  • Listed
Length Max
  • 370
Depth Range Min
  • 0
Depth Range Max
  • 1896