American Oceans

Stingray vs Manta Ray: Their Differences Explained

Telling two sea creatures apart can be difficult with so many fish in the ocean. Manta rays and stingrays are often confused. Some people think they are the same, while others believe that only one is real.

manta ray vs sting ray

Read this guide to find out everything you’ve ever wanted to know about stingrays vs manta rays, what makes them different from one another, and how to tell them apart!

Manta Rays and Stingrays: Why do We Confuse Them?

Manta rays and stingrays both have flat body shapes and long tails.

Their body shapes and how they move through the water look similar, especially when you consider the fact of how many different and different-looking stingrays there are. It makes sense to think that manta rays are another species of stingray. 

Both manta rays and stingrays are rays. They both have cartilage instead of bones and are closely related to sharks. They also both give birth to live young. They have similar tail-like appendages.

GREY STINGRAY SWIMMING ON SAND BOTTOM

When you take a closer look, however, there are significant differences between the two, from where they live and how they eat, to how they mate and defend themselves. 

Manta Rays

One of the first ways you can tell the difference between manta rays and stingrays is that manta rays are much larger than stingrays.

They have two protrusions called cephalic lobes, either positioned in front of their mouths like scoops or folded up in twists that stick out in front of their bodies. 

Manta Ray swimming

Species

The manta species are in the order Myliobatiformes, which includes stingrays but separates them from other cartilaginous fish like skates. 

Unlike stingrays, manta rays are in the family Mobulidae, which indicates they live in the open ocean instead of the sea floor. 

There are only two manta ray species: Mobula or Manta birostris, the giant oceanic manta ray, and Mobula alfredi, the reef manta ray. 

Appearance

Diver encounters a Manta Ray

Manta rays have a flat diamond-shaped body with triangular pectoral fins and broadheads. Their eyes are on either side of their heads, and the manta ray’s mouth is at the front of their head. They also feature cephalic lobes, which can extend to help them feed. 

Their bodies tend to be darker on top with lighter undersides. This countershading, similar to sharks, makes them hard to see from above and below. 

Size

Manta rays are the largest rays in the sea. While the average manta ray is around 15 feet, it can reach up to 30 feet in length, 23 feet across its disc and wide pectoral fins. They can weigh up to 6,600 pounds. 

Habitat

Manta rays live in the open ocean and prefer tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate waters. They live as far north as North Carolina in the United States and as south as New Zealand. 

Reproduction

Manta rays can look like giant birds flapping in the water, and their mating rituals also have some similarities.

Silhouette of manta ray spawning

Males dance and perform feats of acrobatics while chasing a female. It is up to her to choose the mate she deems suitable. After mating, the female can store the male’s sperm, saving fertilizations for the best conditions. 

Female manta rays reach sexual maturity between eight and ten years old. They give birth once every couple of years. In ovoviviparity, the fish eggs are fertilized and hatched inside the mother, and manta rays give birth to live pups, usually only one at a time. 

Diet

Though manta rays are giants, they are filter feeders that munch on phytoplankton, tiny organisms which include krill, shrimp, and planktonic crabs. While feeding, they often flip in the water and use their cephalic lobes to help scoop the water and organisms into their giant mouths. 

Manta Ray at night feeding

Manta rays have a feeding method where they gather in large groups and climb the water column for food. 

Lifestyle

Manta rays spend their lives in the open ocean. They often turn somersaults in the water and are even known to breach, flipping out of the water, though scientists aren’t sure why. They also frequent cleaning stations where small fish remove parasites from their bodies. 

Intelligence

Manta rays have large brains and the intelligence to match. They are one of the few animals, including bottlenose dolphins and elephants, that can pass the “mirror test” which determines an animal’s ability to recognize itself. 

Aggressiveness

Manta and Girl diving

Manta rays are not aggressive. These gentle giants are more likely to swim off when threatened than show aggression. While they have long, whip-like tails, they do not possess the barbs or stings that sting rays have for defense. 

Because they are filter feeders without stings, they pose little to no threat to people.

Endangerment

The International Union for Conservation of Nature considers the giant manta ray an endangered species. 

They are caught by fishermen as bycatch but are also hunted for their gill rakers.

Lifespan

Manta rays live an average of 40 years, with some as long as 50 years. 

Stingrays

Another difference between manta rays and stingrays is the venomous barbed tails of stingrays. They also tend to have spiracles rather than gill slits and other features that allow them to hide and eat from the sea floor.

Smiling stingray

Species

Stingrays are cartilaginous fish that belong to the order myliobatiformes along with manta rays. 

The 220 species of stingray are divided up into eight different families. Butterfly rays belong to the family Gymnuridae.

The spotted eagle rays are a migratory species, part of the Myliobatidae family. Whiptail stingrays are the family Dasyatidae. River stingrays belong to the Potamotrygonidae family. Deepwater stingrays are members of the Pelobatidate family. 

The sixgill stingray is the only member of the Hexatrygonidae family. 

Appearance

SMALL GROUP OF GREY STINGRAY SWIMMING AROUND

Stingrays are present in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. The stingray’s body can be diamond shaped with more prominent pectoral fins. There are also round rays like the Atlantic stingray. Their eyes are on top of their body, and their mouths are on the undersides of their bodies. 

Size

Depending on the species of stingray, they can be small, like the ten-inch, five-pound Atlantic stingray, or quite big, like giant freshwater rays, which can get up to 800 pounds and reach a width of eight feet. 

Habitat

Like manta rays, stingrays tend to live in warmer and subtropical waters. However, stingrays prefer the seafloor or the coastal waters of reefs. There are also freshwater species that live in river beds

Reproduction

Stingrays are ovoviviparous, incubating their eggs inside of their bodies and giving birth to live pups. They typically reproduce once a year, producing between two to six young.

Two eagle ray Myliobatidae

During mating season, the male stingray will bite the female stingray. She will struggle at first but then cease fighting as she agrees to mate. 

Diet

With special jaws and flat teeth for grinding that allow them to eat what they find on the seafloor, stingrays feed on small animals like clams, oysters, mussels, crabs, and shrimp.

Some species flatten their bodies and camouflage against the ocean floor, and prey buried, ambushing small fish when they come near. 

Lifestyle

Unlike manta rays, stingrays spend their time hanging out on the seafloor or within a reef where they can blend in. When they swim, they tend to stick close to surfaces to camouflage if needed. 

Intelligence

They may not be geniuses, but many stingray species are still pretty bright. They can manipulate objects, and they even engage in play.

Aggressiveness

Stingray City

Many stingrays tend to be timid and would rather hide than become aggressive. However, when they feel imminently threatened, they can whip their tail, releasing one or more spines into a predator or person.

A sheath around the spine breaks, releasing venom into the wound. This can be painful but is rarely fatal to humans.

Endangerment 

Due to factors like bycatch, unregulated fishing, and pollution, more than 45 species of stingray are considered vulnerable or endangered. 

Lifespan

Lifespan is dependent on the stingray species. Some stingrays live an average of six to eight years, others can live up to 25 years. Stingrays, however, have a much shorter lifespan than manta rays. 

FAQs

Here are some frequently asked questions about manta and sting rays. 

Can manta rays and stingrays kill you?

Manta rays can’t kill you. While human deaths due to stingrays are rare, they can happen. In 2006, conservationist, zookeeper, and television personality Steve Irwin died when a stingray’s barb pierced his heart while filming. 

Are manta rays and stingrays friendly?

Rays are wild animals. While they can be friendly, it’s best to be aware of them and respect their space.

Do manta rays and stingrays have bones?

Rather than bones, manta rays and stingrays have skeletons made from softer cartilage, like sharks and skates.

Do manta rays and stingrays get along?

Manta rays and stingrays spend their lives in different parts of the ocean. However, in their Ocean Voyager exhibit, The Georgia Aquarium keeps manta rays, devil rays, and a few species of stingrays that swim together peacefully. 

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