The devil fish or giant devil ray (''Mobula mobular'') is a species of ray in the family

Mobulidae 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 ...

. It is currently listed as

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...

, mostly due to

bycatch Bycatch (or by-catch), in the fishing industry, is a fish or other marine species that is caught unintentionally while fishing for specific species or sizes of wildlife. Bycatch is either the wrong species, the wrong sex, or is undersized or juve ...

mortality in unrelated fisheries.

Description

The devil fish is larger than its close relative the

lesser devil ray The lesser devil ray (''Mobula hypostoma'') is a ray in the family Mobulidae. They occur along the coasts of the western Atlantic, from North Carolina to northern Argentina. Habitat These rays live in shallow waters and can be found singly or i ...

. It grows to a length of disk , making it one of the largest rays. It possesses a spiny tail. The devil fish is the third largest species in the genus ''Mobula'', after the

oceanic Oceanic may refer to: *Of or relating to the ocean *Of or relating to Oceania **Oceanic climate **Oceanic languages **Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)" Places * Oceanic, British Columbia, a settlement on Smith Island, ...

and

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock out ...

manta rays. It is the only mobulid species that lives in the Mediterranean Sea. The species has been observed to have a maximum recorded length of disk width of 5.2 meters (roughly 17 feet). However, those data are unreliable and are allegedly misunderstood as Giant oceanic Manta Rays that have strayed into the Mediterranean. It is also considered to be the only Devil fish with a tail spine. The species is also considered endangered given its decreasing population density.

Distribution and habitat

The Devil fish is most common in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

. It is also found in the Eastern

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, off the southwest coast of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and south of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, as well as in the central and western Pacific Ocean. In the

, the species has a basin-wide distribution and is most frequent in the eastern Mediterranean and the Adriatic Sea.Guide of Mediterranean Skates and Rays (Mobula mobular). Oct. 2022. Mendez L., Bacquet A. and F. Briand. http://www.ciesm.org/Guide/skatesandrays/Mobula-mobular The large aggregations observed in the Levantine basin could signal an important mating area. Devil fish inhabit offshore areas to the

neritic zone The neritic zone (or sublittoral zone) is the relatively shallow part of the ocean above the drop-off of the continental shelf, approximately in depth. From the point of view of marine biology it forms a relatively stable and well-illuminated ...

, their range as deep as several thousand meters. They are typically observed in small clusters, and may occasionally form larger groups. Giant devil rays are usually seen in deep coastal waters but are occasionally seen in shallow waters. In a tagging experiment conducted by the Italian National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), three giant devil rays were tagged and their depth was observed throughout different times of the day. The rays reached a maximum depth of 600–700 meters (1960–2300 feet) but mostly spent their time between 0 and 50 meters (0 and 165 feet); they prefer warmer waters with a temperature between 20 °C and 29 °C (68 °F and 84 °F). The giant devil rays also deep dive at random times, instances not correlated to the time of day unlike how other species deep dive at specific times of day. In other observations studying ray abundance and habitat, giant devil rays were observed alone and occasionally in groups with a maximum of 18 rays. The same study also emphasizes that the rays undergo a species migration across the Mediterranean Sea with the seasons, taking advantage of warm, highly productive waters.

Ecology

The average lifespan of a giant devil ray is 20 years. It is an epipelagic species. It has a very low reproductive capacity. This means that the species gives birth to a single offspring at unknown intervals. The species is

ovoviviparous Ovoviviparity, ovovivipary, ovivipary, or aplacental viviparity is a term used as a "bridging" form of reproduction between egg-laying oviparous and live-bearing viviparous reproduction. Ovoviviparous animals possess embryos that develop insi ...

: the young hatch from their eggs inside the mother's body and emerge later when they are more fully grown. It can be predicted that at the rate that its population is declining now, the population will decline by at least 50% in the next 60 years. This is due to a number of threats including the poor likelihood of recovering from declining populations. Devil rays feed on

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in Hydrosphere, water (or atmosphere, air) that are unable to propel themselves against a Ocean current, current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankt ...

ic crustaceans and small schooling fish, which are funneled into the mouth with cephalic flaps. When these flaps are rolled up, they look like horns, giving the animal a "devil-like" silhouette. It mostly eats euphausiid shrimp (''Meganyctiphanes norvegica'') and small mesopelagic and clupeid fishes.

Conservation status

The devil fish has a limited range and a low rate of reproduction. As a result, it is sensitive to environmental changes. Its population trend is decreasing. Most of the information on the giant devil ray has been gathered through bycatch data because the species has a high bycatch mortality. Giant devil ray mortalities are mostly reported as bycatch from swordfish nets, and occasionally reported as bycatch from longlines, purse seines, trawls, trammel nets, and tuna traps. There are many threats against the giant devil ray such as fishing, resource harvesting (being taken as bycatch in different fisheries), industrial garbage, and solid waste. The main threats to this species come from pollution in the Mediterranean and bycatch capture in various fishing equipment including trawls, tuna traps, and dragnets meant for

swordfish Swordfish (''Xiphias gladius''), also known as broadbills in some countries, are large, highly migratory predatory fish characterized by a long, flat, pointed bill. They are a popular sport fish of the billfish category, though elusive. Swordfis ...

. All species of the genus ''Mobula'' have been targeted by recreational and commercial fisheries for centuries. Fisheries in Gaza and Egypt are reported to catch giant devil rays for local consumption, and they are reported as bycatch in various places including the Indian Ocean and Atlantic Ocean. The 2004

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

listed the devil fish as a vulnerable species. It was reclassified as

in 2006 due to low population resilience coupled with continued high bycatch mortality. In June 2018 the New Zealand

Department of Conservation An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...

classified the devil fish as "Data Deficient" with the qualifier "Secure Overseas" under the

New Zealand Threat Classification System The New Zealand Threat Classification System is used by the Department of Conservation to assess conservation priorities of species in New Zealand. The system was developed because the IUCN Red List, a similar conservation status system, had some ...

. Off of the Adriatic Sea, the giant devil ray is legally protected in Italy and Croatia. Fishing, transportation, landing, and trade of the giant devil ray is forbidden in Albania. The giant devil ray is also protected under the Bern and Barcelona conventions.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:fish, devil

devil fish The devil fish or giant devil ray (''Mobula mobular'') is a species of ray in the family Mobulidae. It is currently listed as endangered, mostly due to bycatch mortality in unrelated fisheries. Description The devil fish is larger than its clo ...

Fish of the Mediterranean Sea