Common Name
Bentfin Mobula
Year Described
Lloyd, 1908
Identification
Disk moderate (for genus) and broad. Head relatively small and protruding. Mouth wide and subterminal. Teeth present on both jaws. Tooth bands >70% of mouth width. Cephalic lobes prominent. Trunk thick with well developed ventral gill slits. Eyes on side of head. Spiracles below pectoral fin origin. Pectoral fins angular with pointed tips. Anterior disk margin with distinct concave notches giving it an undulating appearance. Posterior disk margin strongly concave. Tail relatively short. Tail spine absent. Dorsal fin single and triangular on base of tail. Pelvic fins small. Skin with sparse denticles in adults.
Color
Dorsum blackish or brown to blue-gray, sometimes pale on the anterior disk margin. Sometimes with a dark "collar" on neck. Side of head with a black "mask" over eye and curving around pectoral origin. Mostly white behind eye and on side of cephalic lobes. Ventrum almost completely white with gray margins and fin tips. Dorsal fin with white tip.
Size
Maximum size to over 1.9m wide. Adults mature at about 1.5m. Juveniles born at around 65-85cm.
Habitat
Pelagic near surface in both offshore and inshore waters.
Range
Reported from off eastern and southeastern Brazil. Likely more widespread.
References
Gadig, O.B.F., Namora, R.C., & F. dos Santos Motta. 2003. Occurrence of the bentfin devil ray, Mobula thurstoni (Chondrichthyes: Mobulidae), in the western Atlantic. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 83(4), 869-870.
Last, P.R., White, W.T., Carvalho, M.R. de, Séret, B., Stehmann, M.F.W & Naylor, G.J.P (Eds.). 2016. Rays of the World. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne. 790p.