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The manta ray or giant manta is the largest of the ray fish, ranging up to eight meters (25 ft) across and weighing up 3,000 kg (3 tons). It ranges throughout the tropical seas of the world, typically around coral reefs. Black above and white below, with distinctive "horns" on either side of its broad head, the manta is a prized sighting by scuba divers.
They eat plankton and small fish.
Taxonomically the situation of the mantas is still under investigation. Three species have been identified: Manta birostris, Manta ehrenbergii, and Manta raya, but they are quite similar to each other, and the last two may just be isolated populations.
Mantas have been given a variety of common names, including Atlantic manta, Pacific manta, devil ray, devilfish, and just "manta".
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