Cephaloptera

Ceph`a`lop´te`ra    (sĕf`å`lǒp´tė`rå)

n.

1.

(Zool.) One of the generic names of the gigantic ray (Manta birostris) of the family Mobulidae, known as devilfish, sea devil, manta and manta ray. It is common on the coasts of South Carolina, Florida, and farther south, and is sometimes found as far north as New York Bay. Some of them grow to enormous size, becoming twenty feet of more across the body, and weighing more than a ton.