The Mobulidae (manta rays and devilfishes) are a family of rays consisting mostly of large species living in the open ocean rather than on the sea bottom.

Taxonomy

The Mobulidae have been variously considered a subfamily of the Myliobatidae by some authors, and a distinct family by others, but recent work favors the latter. Two genera have been traditionally recognized, ''

Manta Manta or mantas may refer to: * Manta ray, large fish belonging to the genus ''Mobula'' Arts and entertainment App & Website * Manta (platform), a Korean digital comics provider Fictional entities * Manta (comics), a character in American Marve ...

'' and ''

Mobula ''Mobula'' is a genus of Batoidea, rays in the family Mobulidae that is found worldwide in tropical and warm, temperate seas. Some authorities consider this to be a subfamily of the Myliobatidae (eagle rays). Their appearance is similar to that o ...

'', but recent DNA analysis shows that ''Mobula'' as traditionally recognized is paraphyletic to manta rays, making ''Manta'' a junior synonym of ''Mobula'' and ''Mobula'' the only extant genus of the family.

Fossil record

Several genera of

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

mobulids are known, including '' Archaeomanta'', '' Burnhamia'', '' Eomobula'', and '' Paramobula''.

References

Ray families Myliobatiformes Extant Cenomanian first appearances Taxa named by Theodore Gill {{batoid-stub