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Eagle ray

Family of cartilaginous fishes

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Gestreifter Adlerrochen ( Pteromylaeus bovinus )
David Sim from London, United Kingdom · CC BY 2.0

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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.

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. A 2016 paper placed Aetobatus in its own family, the Aetobatidae.

More in Animals

Monotypic taxonTaxonomic group with only one subordinate taxonSpecies descriptionFormal description of a discovered speciesParaphylyType of taxonomic groupIUCN Red ListInventory of the global conservation status of biological speciesSubtropicsGeographic and climate zoneCommon nameName generally used for a taxon, group of taxa or organism(s)