Smoothtail Mobula, Smoothtail Devil Ray
Manta Doblada
(Mobula thurstoni)

Smoothtail Mobula, Mobula thurstoni: The Smoothtail Mobula has a relatively short projecting head with a pair of large triangular “wings” with a moderately long tail that is about 60 percent of disc width

The Smoothtail Mobula has a dark blue to black upper surface, dorsal fin with a white tip, and the underside is white, becoming silvery at the wing tips. There is a dark green patch on each side near the rear edge of the wings.

The Smoothtail Mobula has a maximum wingspan of just under 6 feet and it reaches 120 pounds in weight. It is often found in huge schools of several hundred individuals. The young are born alive with disc widths ranging from 26 to 34 inches.

The five Mobulinae Rays found in Mexican waters are all very similar in appearance. However, the Smoothtail Mobula is the only one with a white underside, a wide head, and a medium length tail.

The Smoothtail Mobula is a coastal pelagic species found in the first 300 feet of the water column around reefs. In Mexican waters the Smoothtail Mobula is found in the lower three-fourths of the Sea of Cortez and along the coast of the mainland south to Guatemala.

The Smoothtail Mobula Ray is a member of the Myliobatidae Family which includes the cownosed rays, devil rays, eagle rays, manta rays and mobula rays, and the Mobulinae sub-family which includes just the devil, manta, and mobula rays, of which five are found in Mexican waters and known locally as Manta Rays.

Smoothtail Mobula Photo 1

Smoothtail Mobula, Mobula thurstoni: Caught during a fishing trip with Capt. Pata in the panga Salomé, in 68-degree water, in March 2008, in 150 to 200-foot deep water, utilizing traditional bottom fishing gear, 10 miles north of La Playita, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Size, approximately 48 inches, and 25 pounds in weight. A “catch-and-release.” Description and photos courtesy of John Snow.

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