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Eagle ray

Family of cartilaginous fishes

Summary

Family of cartilaginous fishes

  • Aetomylaeus
  • Myliobatis

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 in length and 7 m (23 ft) in wingspan.

Classification

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. White (2014) retained three genera (Aetobatus, Aetomylaeus, and Myliobatis) in the Myliobatidae, while a fourth (Pteromylaeus) was synonymized with Aetomylaeus.

ImageGenusSpeciesDescription
[[File:Pteromylaeus bovinus valencia.jpg175px]]Aetomylaeus Garman, 1908This 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.
[[File:Myliobatis aquila.jpg175px]]Myliobatis Cuvier, 1816The 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 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 and in exceptional cases, they are found as deep as 300 m. 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.

References

References

  1. "FAMILY Details for Myliobatidae - Eagle and manta rays". World Wide Web electronic publication.
  2. White, W. T.. (2014). "A revised generic arrangement for the eagle ray family Myliobatidae, with definitions for the valid genera". Zootaxa.
  3. (2016). "Resurrection of the family Aetobatidae (Myliobatiformes) for the pelagic eagle rays, genus ''Aetobatus''". Zootaxa.
  4. "Aetomylaeus wafickii summary page".
  5. (2015). "Redescription of the eagle rays ''Myliobatis hamlyni'' Ogilby, 1911 and ''M. tobijei'' Bleeker, 1854 (Myliobatiformes: Myliobatidae) from the East Indo-West Pacific". Zootaxa.
Wikipedia Source

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