Environment / Climate / Range
Ecology
Marine; pelagic-neritic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243). Subtropical, preferred 21°C (Ref. 107945); 53°N - 13°N
Eastern Atlantic: off southwest Ireland, Mediterranean Sea and Portugal south to Senegal, including the Canary and Azores islands. Possibly straying into the northwest Atlantic. Reported from India (Ref. 45255).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 520 cm WD male/unsexed; (Ref. 4442)
Short description
Morphology | Morphometrics
Larger than M. hypostoma, tail with spine and prickles (Ref. 6902).
An epipelagic species (Ref. 6808) found over continental shelves and near oceanic islands (Ref. 6679). Feeds on small pelagic fishes and crustaceans (Ref. 6679). Ovoviviparous (Ref. 50449).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Exhibit ovoviparity (aplacental viviparity), with embryos feeding initially on yolk, then receiving additional nourishment from the mother by indirect absorption of uterine fluid enriched with mucus, fat or protein through specialised structures (Ref. 6679, 50449).
McEachran, J.D. and B. Séret, 1990. Mobulidae. p. 73-76. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 1. (Ref. 4442)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)
CITES (Ref. 94142)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
More information
Age/SizeGrowthLength-weightLength-lengthLength-frequenciesMorphometricsMorphologyLarvaeLarval dynamicsRecruitmentAbundance
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingMass conversion
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Estimates of some properties based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82805): PD
50 = 0.5020 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01000 (0.00244 - 0.04107), b=3.04 (2.81 - 3.27), in cm Total Length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic Level (Ref.
69278): 3.7 ±0.53 se; Based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
69278): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Fec assumed to be <100).
Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Moderate to high vulnerability (55 of 100) .