Manta birostris (Walbaum, 1792)

Smith-Vaniz, William F. & Jelks, Howard L., 2014, Marine and inland fishes of St. Croix, U. S. Virgin Islands: an annotated checklist, Zootaxa 3803 (1), pp. 1-120 : 21

Manta birostris — Caribbean Manta (Manta Ray)

Justification: Many visual records, and listed as "occasional" by Clavijo et al. (1980:5).

Distribution: Circumtropical, Marshall et al. (2009) WA (BD, FL, GOM, BA, GOM, GA, VI, LA, WC, nSA, sSA), EA, IWP, EP.

Remarks: Marshall et al. (2009) present data and color photographs indicating that a second previously unrecognized and putative new Manta species occurs in and appears to be endemic to the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean. In some areas of the northern Atlantic, including the Bahamas, it occurs together with the circumtropical Manta birostris (Walbaum) but only the "new" species apparently occurs around islands of the Lesser Antilles. Images of mantas from St. Croix look like typical M. birostris . Additional research is required to clarify the taxonomic status of the variant Manta sp. and better determine its ecology and precise distribution. If this manta proves to be a distinct species, the name Manta giorna Lesueur 1824 will probably be used for it.