Eagle ray
| Eagle ray Temporal range: Late Cretaceous to Recent[1]
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|---|---|
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| Bull ray (Aetomylaeus bovinus) | |
| Scientific classification Edit this classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Chondrichthyes |
| Subclass: | Elasmobranchii |
| Division: | Batomorphi |
| Order: | Myliobatiformes |
| Family: | Myliobatidae Bonaparte, 1838 |
| Genera | |
The eagle rays are a group of cartilaginous fishes in the family Myliobatidae, consisting mostly of large species living in the open ocean rather than on the sea bottom.
Eagle rays feed on mollusks and crustaceans, crushing their shells with their flattened teeth. They are excellent swimmers and are able to breach the water up to several meters above the surface. Compared with other rays, they have long tails and well-defined, rhomboidal bodies. They are ovoviviparous, giving birth to up to six young at a time. They range from 0.48 to 5.1 m (1.6 to 16.7 ft) in length and 7 m (23 ft) in wingspan.[1]
Classification
[edit | edit source]Nelson's book Fishes of the World treats cownose rays, mantas, and devil rays as subfamilies in the Myliobatidae, but most authors (including William Toby White) have preferred to leave the Rhinopteridae and Mobulidae outside of the Myliobatidae.[2] White (2014) retained three genera (Aetobatus, Aetomylaeus, and Myliobatis) in the Myliobatidae, while a fourth (Pteromylaeus) was synonymized with Aetomylaeus.[2] A 2016 paper placed Aetobatus in its own family, the Aetobatidae.[3]
| Image | Genus | Species | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| File:Pteromylaeus bovinus valencia.jpg | Aetomylaeus Garman, 1908 |
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This obscure genus is distributed in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean. These rays were named because they lack a stinger on the tail.[2] |
| File:Myliobatis aquila.jpg | Myliobatis Cuvier, 1816 |
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The common eagle ray, M. aquila, is distributed throughout the Eastern Atlantic, including the Mediterranean Sea, and the North Sea. Another important species is the bat eagle ray, M. californica, in the Pacific Ocean. These rays can grow extremely large, up to 1.8 m (6 ft) including the tail. The tail looks like a whip and may be as long as the body, and is armed with a stinger. Eagle rays live close to the coast in depths of 1 to 30 m (3 to 98 ft) and in exceptional cases, they are found as deep as 300 m (980 ft). The eagle ray is most commonly seen cruising along sandy beaches in very shallow waters, its two wings sometimes breaking the surface and giving the impression of two sharks traveling together. |
See also
[edit | edit source]References
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