Species is commonly taken via small-scale fisheries. For more information about sharks & rays, explore the Sharks & Rays InfoBook.When wading in shallow waters, people should shuffle their feet to avoid stepping on a buried stingray.A stingray lashes its tail only as a defensive measure when it is caught, stepped on, or otherwise disturbed. Among the best known rays are stingrays, which have long, slim, whiplike tails armed with serrated, venomous spines.The wingspan, or disc-size, of a southern stingray (Dasyatis americana) can reach up to 1.5 m (5 ft). Reminiscent of birds in flight, some rays gently flap their enlarged pectoral fins, or "wings," to "fly" through and sometimes even leap out of the water.(The term "bony plates" is, however, a misnomer in that rays do not have bone, but rather, cartilage.) Often completely burying themselves in the sand or soft sediment, rays are camouflaged by a grayish-brown, often mottled coloration. Some rays crush their prey between their blunt teeth, sometimes referred to as bony plates.Like sharks – their close relatives – batoids have skeletons made of tough connective tissue called cartilage. All rays belong to the superorder Batoidea, which includes stingrays, electric rays, skates, guitarfish, and sawfish.Life Span No data Range Worldwide, particularly in tropical, sub-tropical, and temperate waters Habitat Oceans, estuaries, freshwater streams, lagoons, lakes, shallow offshore waters, and coastlines Population Global: No data Status IUCN: Spotted eagle ray and manta ray listed as Data Deficient several stingray species listed (1 species Endangered, 1 species Vulnerable, 1 species Lower Risk/Near Threatened) Gestation Ovoviviparous ("egg live birth") Sexual Maturity No data Manta rays filter feed mostly on small crustaceans and small schooling fish. Weight No data Diet Rays primarily feed on mollusks, crustaceans, worms, and occasionally smaller fishes. Size A ray's wingspan, or disc-size, can range from about 30 cm (12 in.) in yellow stingrays to over 6.1 m (20 ft) in manta rays. Male: Male rays are easily distinguished from females by the presence of a pair of claspers (cigar shaped organs).
On the head region, large openings or spiracles lie behind the smaller eyes and 5 gill slits are located ventrally on each side. Most species have a long, whip-like tail and many possess at least 1 venomous spine located along the tail. The pectoral fins are fused to the head region into a disc and, in many species, the head is raised above the disc.
Scientific Classification Common Name ray, stingray Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordata Class Chondrichthyes Superorder Batoidea Order Myliobatiformes Family Dasyatididae (stingrays) Myliobatidae (eagle rays) Mobulidae (manta rays) Genus Species Approximately 480 speciesįast Facts Description Rays in the order Chondrichthyes are essentially a compressed, flattened shark.