Reef manta ray: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the reef manta ray lives – recorded in 7 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Manta alfredi
Group	Rays, skates & chimaeras
Found in	7 countries
Continents	Asia, North America, Oceania
Class	Cartilaginous fish
Order	Myliobatiformes
Family	Myliobatidae

Where does the reef manta ray live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the reef manta ray in 7 countries and territories across Asia, North America and Oceania.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

What kind of animal is the reef manta ray?

The reef manta ray (Manta alfredi) is a cartilaginous fish in the order Myliobatiformes and the family Myliobatidae, genus Manta. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the reef manta ray

The reef manta ray or hāhālua (Mobula alfredi) is a species of ray in the family Mobulidae, one of the largest rays in the world. Among generally recognized species, it is the third-largest species of ray, surpassed by the Giant oceanic manta ray and the Atlantic manta ray.

The species was described in 1868 by Gerard Krefft, the director of the Australian Museum. He named it M. alfredi in honor of Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the first member of the British royal family to visit Australia. It was originally described as part of the genus Manta but in 2017 was changed, along with the rest of the mantas, to be included as part of the genus Mobula.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Reef manta ray (revision 1374816135), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q1620164 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).