It is found worldwide in tropical, subtropical and warm temperate oceans, with records from Australia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Japan, Malaysia, Maldives, Mexico, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Oman, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United States (California), Uruguay, Vanuatu and throughout the central and western Pacific.

[1] The bentfin devil ray can reach a disc width of 189 cm (6.2 ft)[3] and weigh about 54 kg (120 lb).

The front edge of the disc is nearly straight near the snout, but curves sinuously as it approaches the broad, triangular pectoral fins.

In the Gulf of California, the commonest item in the diet is Nyctiphanes simplex, a species of krill,[5] but this fish also feeds seasonally on opossum shrimps.

[1] Mobula thurstoni is a large fish with a high age at maturity and a low fecundity rate, producing a single pup at a time.