# Lesser devil ray

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{{Short description|Species of cartilaginous fish}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Lesser devil ray
| image = The Plagiostomia (Plate 38) (6001273001).jpg
| status = EN
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 20 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Marshall, A. |author2=Barreto, R. |author3=Carlson, J. |author4=Fernando, D. |author5=Fordham, S. |author6=Francis, M.P. |author7=Herman, K. |author8=Jabado, R.W. |author9=Liu, K.M. |author10=Rigby, C.L. |author11=Romanov, E. |date=2019 |title=''Mobula hypostoma'' |volume=2019 |article-number=e.T126710128A896599 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T126710128A896599.en |access-date=20 November 2021}}</ref>
| status2 = CITES_A2 
| status2_system = CITES 
| status2_ref = <ref>{{Cite web|title=Appendices {{!}} CITES|url=https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php|access-date=2022-01-14|website=cites.org}}</ref>
| taxon = Mobula hypostoma
| authority = ([Bancroft](/source/Edward_Nathaniel_Bancroft), 1831)
| range_map = Mobula hypostoma répartition.png
| range_map_caption = Range of ''Mobula hypostoma'', not including ''[M. rochebrunei](/source/Mobula_rochebrunei)''
| synonyms =
* ''Cephalopterus hypostomus''<ref name="iucn status 20 November 2021" />
* ''Cephaloptera massenoidea''<ref name= Boonstra>{{cite web | last = Boonstra | first = Roxane | title = Atlantic devil ray | publisher = Florida Museum of Natural History | url = http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/AtlanticDevilRay/AtlanticDevilRay.html | access-date = 8 December 2011 }}</ref>
* ''Cephaloptera olfersii''
* ''Ceratobatis robertsi''
* ''Ceratobatic robertsii''
* ''Mobula olfersii''
* ''Mobula reobertsi''
* ''[Mobula rochebrunei](/source/Mobula_rochebrunei)''?
}}

The '''lesser devil ray''' ('''''Mobula hypostoma''''') is a species of [devil ray](/source/Mobula) in the family [Mobulidae](/source/Mobulidae).

== Habitat ==
These rays live in shallow, warm waters and can be found in shoals of up to 40 individuals, although more often ranging between 2 and 10.<ref name="manta trust"/>

They occur along the coasts of the western Atlantic, from [North Carolina](/source/North_Carolina) to northern [Argentina](/source/Argentina).<ref name="florida">{{cite web|url=https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fish/species-profiles/mobula-hypostoma/|website=Florida Museum|title=Mobula hypostoma}}</ref> The related ''[Mobula rochebrunei](/source/Mobula_rochebrunei)'' has occasionally been recovered as a junior synonym of ''M. hypostoma'', extending the species' range to the eastern Atlantic.<ref name="whitte">White, W.T., Corrigan, S., Yang, S., Henderson, A.C., Bazinet, A.L., Swofford, D.L. and Naylor, G.J.P. 2017. Phylogeny of the manta and devilrays (Chondrichthyes, mobulidae) with an updated taxonomic arrangement for the family. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 182(1): 50-75. https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlx018.</ref>

== Diet ==
They mostly feed on zooplankton such as small crustaceans, although they can occasionally eat schooling fish, using their cephalic horns to funnel prey into their mouth.<ref name="florida"/>

== Description ==
Lesser devil rays are relatively small, with a maximum width of about {{convert|125|cm|abbr=on}}. They have forward-facing cephalic horns, while their long spineless tails distinguish them from their relatives ''[M. mobular](/source/Mobula_mobular)''.<ref name="manta trust">{{cite web|url=https://www.mantatrust.org/mobula-hypostoma|title=West Atlantic Pygmy Devil Ray (Mobula hypostoma)|website=Manta Trust}}</ref><ref name="florida"/>

Dorsal coloration varies from light brown to black, although some specimens have been reported as blue.<ref name="florida"/> Individuals sometimes possess a dark grey collar between their spiracles.<ref name="manta trust"/>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
* {{ITIS |id=160997 |taxon=Mobula hypostoma |accessdate=18 April 2006}}
* {{FishBase | genus = Mobula | species = hypostoma | month = February | year = 2006}}
* {{cite book | author = C. R. Robins | author2 = G. C. Ray | name-list-style=amp | year = 1986 | title = A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America | url = https://archive.org/details/fieldguidetoatla00robi | url-access = registration | location= Boston | publisher=Houghton Mifflin Company}}

==External links==
* {{SealifePhotos|158530}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q4548397}}

lesser devil ray
Category:Fish of the Western Atlantic
Category:Fish of the Dominican Republic
Category:Vulnerable fish
lesser devil ray

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Lesser devil ray](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesser_devil_ray) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesser_devil_ray?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.