Eagle ray

Eagle ray

Eagle ray has many different common names, including white-spotted eagle ray, bonnet skate, bonnet ray, duckbill ray and spotted duck-billed ray.

Useful information

Eagle ray are a group of cartilaginous fishes in family Myliobatidae. This ray can be identified by its dark dorsal surface covered in white spots or rings. They are live along the open coast in warm waters throughout the world in depths of 1 to 30 m (3 to 98 ft).  Their can be found globally in tropical regions from the Indo-Pacific region from the western Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and the western Atlantic Ocean. Their flat body helps them to swim near the bottom of the ocean looking for preys on bay and sludge area. Eagle ray species usually feed on bivalves, crabs, shrimps, mollusks, whelks and various smaller fishes by specialized chevron-shaped tooth structure helps it to crush. Eagle ray is swim well and can be raises above the water surface in meters. Eagle rays have flat disk-shaped bodies, deep blue or black with white spots on top with a white underbelly. Their tails are longer than those of other rays and may have 2 – 6 venomous spines. This ray species is ovoviviparous, meaning their eggs develop and hatch inside the body of the female rays. A female gives birth to 1 to 6 young Rays per time. Adult Rays of this species can grow up to 16 feet (5 meters) in length including their long tail. Young Spotted Eagle Rays measure between 17 cm and 35 cm in width at the time of birth. Eagle rays, in common with many other rays, often fall victim to sharks such as the tiger shark, the lemon shark, the bull shark, the silver tip shark, and the great hammerhead shark.

Reference http://www.animalspot.net/spotted-eagle-ray.html