Smoothtail mobula

Description

Mobula munkiana,commonly known as the manta de monk,Munk's devil ray,pygmy devil ray,or smoothtail mobula,is a species of ray in the family Myliobatidae.It is found in tropical parts of the eastern Pacific Ocean,ranging from the Gulf of California to Peru,as well as offshore islands such as the Galapagos,Cocos,and Malpelo.Munk's devil ray was first described in 1987 by the Italian ecologist Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara.Munk's devil ray is a large fish with a horizontally flattened body,bulging eyes on the sides of its head and gill slits on the underside.It grows to a width of up to 1.1 metres (3.6 ft),making it the smallest species of devil ray (although only slightly smaller than M.hypostoma and M.Kuhlii).On either side of its central disc it has wide,pointed pectoral fins with which it swims,and a pair of fleshy lobes protrude from the front of its head,allowing it to funnel food into its mouth as it moves through the water.Its dorsal fin is small and its tail is long and slender,and does not bear a spine.The upper surface of this fish is a shade of lavender-grey to dark purplish-grey,and the underside is white,tinged with grey towards the tips of the pectoral fins.