From WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003) [wn]:
manta
n 1: a blanket that is used as a cloak or shawl
2: extremely large pelagic tropical ray that feeds on plankton
and small fishes; usually harmless but its size make it
dangerous if harpooned [syn: manta ray, devilfish]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Manta \Man"ta\, n. [From the native name.] (Zool.)
The manta ray. See also Cephaloptera and Sea devil.
[1913 Webster]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
manta ray \manta ray\ n.
An extremely large pelagic tropical ray of the family
Mobulidae, that feeds on plankton and small fishes. It is
usually harmless but its size (up to 20 feet across and up to
a ton in weight) make it dangerous if harpooned. Called also
manta, sea devil and devilfish. See also Cephaloptera
and Sea devil.
[WordNet 1.5 +PJC]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Cephaloptera \Ceph`a*lop"te*ra\
(s[e^]f`[.a]*l[o^]p"t[-e]*r[.a]), n. [NL., fr. Gr. kefalh`
head + ptero`n wing.] (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.
[1913 Webster]