manta ray

English
a manta ray (Mobula birostris, syn. Manta birostris)

Etymology

From Spanish manta (“blanket”), after the blanket-shaped trap used to catch them.

Pronunciation

Noun

manta ray (plural manta rays)

  1. Any of several very large pelagic rays formerly of the genus Manta, now placed in genus Mobula, with winglike pectoral fins, a long tail, and two fins resembling horns that project from the head.
    Synonyms: manta, sea pancake, majestic flap-flap, majestic sea flap-flap
    • 2020, Jenny Offill, Weather, Granta Books (2021), page 181:
      My favorite are the manta rays. We watch them wing past. The have the largest brain of any fish, I remember.

Translations

Further reading
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