MYLIOBATIDAE Manta birostris (photo by Mark Strickland) Manta birostris (Walbaum, 1792) Giant Manta Disc rhomboidal, much wider than long; pectoral fin wing-like. Head with prehensile, elongated, bilobate cephalic fins. Tail cylindrical, slender, whiplike, without venomous spine (sting). Mouth terminal on head; minute teeth only in lower jaw. Small, stellate dermal denticles on skin. Color: dark gray to black dorsally sometimes with broad oblique white bands anteriorly; white ventrally. Size: maximum disc width at least 6.7 m. Distribution: cosmopolitan in warm sea. Remarks: Feeds on zooplankton and small fishes.