Spotted eagle ray
Encyclopedia
The spotted eagle ray (Aetobatus narinari) is a cartilaginous fish of the eagle ray
family, Myliobatidae. It can be found globally in tropical regions, including the Gulf of Mexico
, Hawaii
, off the coast of West Africa, the Indian Ocean
, Oceania
, and on both coasts of the Americas at depths down to about 80 metres (262.5 ft). The rays are most commonly seen alone, but occasionally swim in groups. Rays are ovoviviparous, the female retaining the eggs then releasing the young as miniature versions of the parent.
This ray can be identified by its dark ventral surface covered in white spots or rings. Near the base of the ray's relatively long tail, just behind the pelvic fins, are several venom
ous, barbed stingers. Spotted eagle rays commonly feed on small fish and crustacean
s, and will sometimes dig with their snouts to look for food buried in the sand of the sea bed. These rays are commonly observed leaping out of the water, and on at least two occasions have been reported as having jumped into boats, in one incident resulting in the death of a woman in the Florida Keys
. The spotted eagle ray is hunted by a wide variety of sharks. The rays are considered Near Threatened
on the IUCN Red List
. They are fished mainly in Southeast Asia and Africa, the most common market being in commercial trade and aquariums. They are protected in the Great Barrier Reef
.
as Raja narinari in 1790 while he was on a naturalist
trip to the Antilles
, and later as Stoasodon narinari. Its current genus name is Ateobatus, derived from the Greek words aetos (eagle) and batis (ray). The spotted eagle ray belongs to the Myliobatidae family, which includes the well known Manta ray
. Most rays in the Myliobatidae swim in the open ocean rather than close to the sea floor.
The spotted eagle ray has many different common names, including white-spotted eagle ray, bonnet skate, bonnet ray, duckbill ray and spotted duck-billed ray.
Spotted eagle rays have flat disk-shaped bodies, deep blue or black with white spots on top with a white underbelly, and distinctive flat snouts similar to a duck's bill. Their tails are longer than those of other rays and may have 2–6 venomous spines, just behind the pelvic fins. The front half of the long and wing-like pectoral
disk has five small gills in its underside.
Mature spotted eagle rays can be up to 5 metres (16.4 ft) in length; the largest have a wingspan of up to 3 metres (9.8 ft) and a mass of 230 kilograms (507.1 lb).
. The male will then roll the female over by grabbing one of her pectoral
fins, which are located on either side of her body. Once she is on her ventral side, the male puts a clasper into the female, connecting them venter
to venter, with both undersides together. The mating process lasts for 30–90 seconds.
The spotted eagle ray develops ovoviviparously
; the eggs are retained in the female and hatch internally, feeding off a yolk sac
until live birth. After a gestation period of one year the mother ray will give birth to a maximum of four pups. When the pups are first born, their discs measure from 170 millimetre across. The rays mature in 4 to 6 years.
s, and other benthic infauna. They feed on mollusks and crustaceans, particularly malacostraca
ns. and also upon hermit crabs, shrimp, octopi, and some small fish.
The spotted eagle ray's specialized chevron-shaped tooth structure helps it to crush the mollusks' hard shells. The jaws of these rays have developed calcified struts to help them break through the shells of mollusks, by supporting the jaws and preventing dents from hard prey. These rays have the unique behavior of digging with their snouts in the sand of the ocean. While doing this, a cloud of sand surrounds the ray and sand spews from its gills. One study has shown that there are no differences in the feeding habits of males and females or in rays from different regions of Australia and Taiwan.
s; one tracking study showed that they are more active during high tides. Uniquely among rays they dig with their snouts in the sand, surrounding themselves in a cloud of sand that spews from their gills. They also exhibit two motions in which the abdomen
and the pectoral
fins are moved rapidly up and down: the pelvic thrust and the extreme pelvic thrust. The pelvic thrust is usually performed by a solitary ray, and repeated four to five times rapidly. The extreme pelvic thrust is most commonly observed when the ray is swimming in a group, from which it will separate itself before vigorously thrusting with its pectoral
fins. The rays also performs dips and jumps; in a dip the ray will dive and then come back up rapidly, perhaps as many as five times consecutively. There are two main types of jump: in one, the ray propels itself vertically out of the water, to which it returns along the same line; the other is when the ray leaps at a 45 degree angle, often repeated multiple times at high speeds. When in shallow waters or outside their normal swimming areas the rays are most commonly seen alone, but they do also congregate in schools. One form of traveling is called loose aggregation, which is when three to sixteen rays are swimming in a loose group, with occasional interactions between them. A school commonly consists of six or more rays swimming in the same direction at exactly the same speed.
s. There are no target fisheries for the spotted eagle ray, but it is often eaten after being caught unintentionally as bycatch
. Although interaction with humans is rare, there have been several reported incidents of spotted eagle rays leaping out of the water onto boats and landing on people. Nevertheless spotted eagle rays do not pose a significant threat to humans, as they are shy and generally avoid human contact.
Spotted 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. A great hammerhead shark has been observed attacking a spotted eagle ray in open water by taking a large bite out of one of its pectoral
fins, thus incapacitating the ray. The shark then used its head to pin the ray to the bottom and pivoted to take the ray in its jaws, head first. Sharks have also been observed to follow female rays during the birthing season, and feed on the newborn pups.
, Hawaii
, Atlantic Africa
, the Indian Ocean
, Oceania
, and the Pacific west coast
.
They are found in shallow coastal water by coral reefs and bays, in depths down to 80 metres (262.5 ft).
Spotted eagle rays are found in warm, temperate, waters worldwide; in the West-Atlantic Ocean
, off the coast of North Carolina
and down to Florida
, in the Gulf Stream
, in the Caribbean
, and down past the southern part of Brazil. In the West-Pacific Ocean
, it can be found from the Red Sea
to South Africa and also in northern Japan and Australia. The ray can also be found in the Eastern-Pacific Ocean from the Gulf of California
down through Puerto Pizarro
, an area that includes the Galapagos Islands
. Spotted eagle rays are most commonly seen in bays and reef areas. They spend much of their time swimming freely in open waters, generally in schools close to the surface, and can travel long distances in a day.
as "near threatened". The rays are caught mainly in Southeast Asia and Africa. They are also common in commercial marine life trade and are displayed in aquariums. Among the many efforts to help protect this species, South Africa's decision to deploy fewer protective shark net
s has reduced the number of deaths caused by entanglement. South Africa has also placed restrictions on the number of rays that can be bought per person per day. In the state of Florida in the United States, the fishing, landing, purchasing and trading of spotted eagle ray is outlawed. The spotted eagle ray is also protected in the Great Barrier Reef
on the eastern coast of Australia.
Eagle ray
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....
family, Myliobatidae. It can be found globally in tropical regions, including the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, off the coast of West Africa, the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
, Oceania
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
, and on both coasts of the Americas at depths down to about 80 metres (262.5 ft). The rays are most commonly seen alone, but occasionally swim in groups. Rays are ovoviviparous, the female retaining the eggs then releasing the young as miniature versions of the parent.
This ray can be identified by its dark ventral surface covered in white spots or rings. Near the base of the ray's relatively long tail, just behind the pelvic fins, are several venom
Venom
Venom is the general term referring to any variety of toxins used by certain types of animals that inject it into their victims by the means of a bite or a sting...
ous, barbed stingers. Spotted eagle rays commonly feed on small fish and crustacean
Crustacean
Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...
s, and will sometimes dig with their snouts to look for food buried in the sand of the sea bed. These rays are commonly observed leaping out of the water, and on at least two occasions have been reported as having jumped into boats, in one incident resulting in the death of a woman in the Florida Keys
Florida Keys
The Florida Keys are a coral archipelago in southeast United States. They begin at the southeastern tip of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and extend in a gentle arc south-southwest and then westward to Key West, the westernmost of the inhabited islands, and on to the uninhabited Dry...
. The spotted eagle ray is hunted by a wide variety of sharks. The rays are considered Near Threatened
Near Threatened
Near Threatened is a conservation status assigned to species or lower taxa that may be considered threatened with extinction in the near future, although it does not currently qualify for the threatened status...
on the IUCN Red List
IUCN Red List
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...
. They are fished mainly in Southeast Asia and Africa, the most common market being in commercial trade and aquariums. They are protected in the Great Barrier Reef
Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the world'slargest reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,600 kilometres over an area of approximately...
.
Taxonomy
The spotted eagle ray was first described by Swedish botanist Bengt Anders EuphrasénBengt Anders Euphrasén
Bengt Anders Euphrasén was a Swedish botanist.Euphrasén graduated in Uppsala University in 1784....
as Raja narinari in 1790 while he was on a naturalist
Naturalist
Naturalist may refer to:* Practitioner of natural history* Conservationist* Advocate of naturalism * Naturalist , autobiography-See also:* The American Naturalist, periodical* Naturalism...
trip to the Antilles
Antilles
The Antilles islands form the greater part of the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea. The Antilles are divided into two major groups: the "Greater Antilles" to the north and west, including the larger islands of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola , and Puerto Rico; and the smaller "Lesser Antilles" on the...
, and later as Stoasodon narinari. Its current genus name is Ateobatus, derived from the Greek words aetos (eagle) and batis (ray). The spotted eagle ray belongs to the Myliobatidae family, which includes the well known Manta ray
Manta ray
The manta ray is the largest species of the rays. The largest known specimen was more than across, with a weight of about . It ranges throughout waters of the world, typically around coral reefs...
. Most rays in the Myliobatidae swim in the open ocean rather than close to the sea floor.
The spotted eagle ray has many different common names, including white-spotted eagle ray, bonnet skate, bonnet ray, duckbill ray and spotted duck-billed ray.
Description and behavior
Pectoral
Pectoral may refer to:* Pectoral cross, a cross worn on the chest* a decorative, usually jeweled version of a gorget* Pectoral , often iconographic with hieroglyphs* Pectoralis major muscle, commonly referred to as "pectorals" or "pecs"...
disk has five small gills in its underside.
Mature spotted eagle rays can be up to 5 metres (16.4 ft) in length; the largest have a wingspan of up to 3 metres (9.8 ft) and a mass of 230 kilograms (507.1 lb).
Reproduction
One male, or sometimes several, will pursue a female. When one of the males approaches the female, he uses his upper jaw to grab her dorsumDorsum (anatomy)
In anatomy, the dorsum is the upper side of animals that typically run, fly, or swim in a horizontal position, and the back side of animals that walk upright. In vertebrates the dorsum contains the backbone. The term dorsal refers to anatomical structures that are either situated toward or grow...
. The male will then roll the female over by grabbing one of her pectoral
Pectoral
Pectoral may refer to:* Pectoral cross, a cross worn on the chest* a decorative, usually jeweled version of a gorget* Pectoral , often iconographic with hieroglyphs* Pectoralis major muscle, commonly referred to as "pectorals" or "pecs"...
fins, which are located on either side of her body. Once she is on her ventral side, the male puts a clasper into the female, connecting them venter
Abdomen
In vertebrates such as mammals the abdomen constitutes the part of the body between the thorax and pelvis. The region enclosed by the abdomen is termed the abdominal cavity...
to venter, with both undersides together. The mating process lasts for 30–90 seconds.
The spotted eagle ray develops ovoviviparously
Ovoviviparity
Ovoviviparity, ovovivipary, or ovivipary, is a mode of reproduction in animals in which embryos develop inside eggs that are retained within the mother's body until they are ready to hatch...
; the eggs are retained in the female and hatch internally, feeding off a yolk sac
Yolk sac
The yolk sac is a membranous sac attached to an embryo, providing early nourishment in the form of yolk in bony fishes, sharks, reptiles, birds, and primitive mammals...
until live birth. After a gestation period of one year the mother ray will give birth to a maximum of four pups. When the pups are first born, their discs measure from 170 millimetre across. The rays mature in 4 to 6 years.
Feeding and diet
Spotted eagle ray preys mainly upon bivalves, shrimps, crabs, whelkWhelk
Whelk, also spelled welk or even "wilks", is a common name used to mean one or more kinds of sea snail. The species, genera and families referred to using this common name vary a great deal from one geographic area to another...
s, and other benthic infauna. They feed on mollusks and crustaceans, particularly malacostraca
Malacostraca
Malacostraca is the largest of the six classes of crustaceans, containing over 25,000 extant species, divided among 16 orders. Its members display a greater diversity of body forms than any other class of animals, and include crabs, lobsters, shrimp, krill, woodlice, scuds , mantis shrimp and many...
ns. and also upon hermit crabs, shrimp, octopi, and some small fish.
The spotted eagle ray's specialized chevron-shaped tooth structure helps it to crush the mollusks' hard shells. The jaws of these rays have developed calcified struts to help them break through the shells of mollusks, by supporting the jaws and preventing dents from hard prey. These rays have the unique behavior of digging with their snouts in the sand of the ocean. While doing this, a cloud of sand surrounds the ray and sand spews from its gills. One study has shown that there are no differences in the feeding habits of males and females or in rays from different regions of Australia and Taiwan.
Behavior
Spotted eagle rays prefer to swim in waters of 24 to 27 °C (75.2 to 80.6 °F). Their daily movement is influenced by the tideTide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the moon and the sun and the rotation of the Earth....
s; one tracking study showed that they are more active during high tides. Uniquely among rays they dig with their snouts in the sand, surrounding themselves in a cloud of sand that spews from their gills. They also exhibit two motions in which the abdomen
Abdomen
In vertebrates such as mammals the abdomen constitutes the part of the body between the thorax and pelvis. The region enclosed by the abdomen is termed the abdominal cavity...
and the pectoral
Pectoral
Pectoral may refer to:* Pectoral cross, a cross worn on the chest* a decorative, usually jeweled version of a gorget* Pectoral , often iconographic with hieroglyphs* Pectoralis major muscle, commonly referred to as "pectorals" or "pecs"...
fins are moved rapidly up and down: the pelvic thrust and the extreme pelvic thrust. The pelvic thrust is usually performed by a solitary ray, and repeated four to five times rapidly. The extreme pelvic thrust is most commonly observed when the ray is swimming in a group, from which it will separate itself before vigorously thrusting with its pectoral
Pectoral
Pectoral may refer to:* Pectoral cross, a cross worn on the chest* a decorative, usually jeweled version of a gorget* Pectoral , often iconographic with hieroglyphs* Pectoralis major muscle, commonly referred to as "pectorals" or "pecs"...
fins. The rays also performs dips and jumps; in a dip the ray will dive and then come back up rapidly, perhaps as many as five times consecutively. There are two main types of jump: in one, the ray propels itself vertically out of the water, to which it returns along the same line; the other is when the ray leaps at a 45 degree angle, often repeated multiple times at high speeds. When in shallow waters or outside their normal swimming areas the rays are most commonly seen alone, but they do also congregate in schools. One form of traveling is called loose aggregation, which is when three to sixteen rays are swimming in a loose group, with occasional interactions between them. A school commonly consists of six or more rays swimming in the same direction at exactly the same speed.
Human interaction
The dorsal spots make the spotted eagle ray an aquarium attraction, although because of its large size it is likely kept only at public aquariumPublic aquarium
A public aquarium is the aquatic counterpart of a zoo, housing living aquatic species for viewing. Most public aquariums feature tanks larger than those kept by home aquarists, as well as smaller tanks. Since the first public aquariums were built in the mid-19th century, they have become popular...
s. There are no target fisheries for the spotted eagle ray, but it is often eaten after being caught unintentionally as bycatch
Bycatch
The term “bycatch” is usually used for fish caught unintentionally in a fishery while intending to catch other fish. It may however also indicate untargeted catch in other forms of animal harvesting or collecting...
. Although interaction with humans is rare, there have been several reported incidents of spotted eagle rays leaping out of the water onto boats and landing on people. Nevertheless spotted eagle rays do not pose a significant threat to humans, as they are shy and generally avoid human contact.
Predators
Tiger shark
The tiger sharks, Galeocerdo cuvier, is a species of requiem shark and the only member of the genus Galeocerdo. Commonly known as sea tigers, tiger sharks are relatively large macropredators, capable of attaining a length of over . It is found in many tropical and temperate waters, and is...
, the lemon shark
Lemon shark
The lemon shark, Negaprion brevirostris, is a shark in the family Carcharhinidae, that can grow to long. It is known as the lemon shark because, at certain depths, light interacting with the local seawater can give this shark a tanned and yellow pitted appearance, much like the surface of a...
, the bull shark
Bull shark
The bull shark, Carcharhinus leucas, also known as Zambezi shark or unofficially known as Zambi in Africa and Nicaragua shark in Nicaragua, is a shark common worldwide in warm, shallow waters along coasts and in rivers...
, the silver tip shark, and the great hammerhead shark. A great hammerhead shark has been observed attacking a spotted eagle ray in open water by taking a large bite out of one of its pectoral
Pectoral
Pectoral may refer to:* Pectoral cross, a cross worn on the chest* a decorative, usually jeweled version of a gorget* Pectoral , often iconographic with hieroglyphs* Pectoralis major muscle, commonly referred to as "pectorals" or "pecs"...
fins, thus incapacitating the ray. The shark then used its head to pin the ray to the bottom and pivoted to take the ray in its jaws, head first. Sharks have also been observed to follow female rays during the birthing season, and feed on the newborn pups.
Habitat and distribution
Spotted eagle rays are found globally in tropical regions, including the Gulf of MexicoGulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, Atlantic Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
, the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
, Oceania
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
, and the Pacific west coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
.
They are found in shallow coastal water by coral reefs and bays, in depths down to 80 metres (262.5 ft).
Spotted eagle rays are found in warm, temperate, waters worldwide; in the West-Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
, off the coast of North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
and down to Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, in the Gulf Stream
Gulf Stream
The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension towards Europe, the North Atlantic Drift, is a powerful, warm, and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates at the tip of Florida, and follows the eastern coastlines of the United States and Newfoundland before crossing the Atlantic Ocean...
, in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, and down past the southern part of Brazil. In the West-Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, it can be found from the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
to South Africa and also in northern Japan and Australia. The ray can also be found in the Eastern-Pacific Ocean from the Gulf of California
Gulf of California
The Gulf of California is a body of water that separates the Baja California Peninsula from the Mexican mainland...
down through Puerto Pizarro
Puerto Pizarro
Puerto Pizarro is a resort located thirteen miles from the city of Tumbes, Peru. Its inhabitants are mostly fishermen and seashell collectors.-Attractions:Its shallow waters allow windsurfing, water skiing, and boating, making it a major tourist spot....
, an area that includes the Galapagos Islands
Galápagos Islands
The Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, west of continental Ecuador, of which they are a part.The Galápagos Islands and its surrounding waters form an Ecuadorian province, a national park, and a...
. Spotted eagle rays are most commonly seen in bays and reef areas. They spend much of their time swimming freely in open waters, generally in schools close to the surface, and can travel long distances in a day.
Conservation
The spotted eagle ray is included in the IUCN's Red ListIUCN Red List
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...
as "near threatened". The rays are caught mainly in Southeast Asia and Africa. They are also common in commercial marine life trade and are displayed in aquariums. Among the many efforts to help protect this species, South Africa's decision to deploy fewer protective shark net
Shark net
A shark net is a submerged net placed around beaches to reduce shark attacks on swimmers.Shark nets do not offer complete protection but work on the principle of "fewer sharks, fewer attacks". They reduce occurrence via shark mortality. Reducing the local shark populations is believed to reduce the...
s has reduced the number of deaths caused by entanglement. South Africa has also placed restrictions on the number of rays that can be bought per person per day. In the state of Florida in the United States, the fishing, landing, purchasing and trading of spotted eagle ray is outlawed. The spotted eagle ray is also protected in the Great Barrier Reef
Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the world'slargest reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,600 kilometres over an area of approximately...
on the eastern coast of Australia.
External links
- Information and pictures of the spotted eagle ray
- White-spotted Eagle Ray, Aetobatus narinari (Euphrasén, 1790) – Australian MuseumAustralian MuseumThe Australian Museum is the oldest museum in Australia, with an international reputation in the fields of natural history and anthropology. It features collections of vertebrate and invertebrate zoology, as well as mineralogy, palaeontology, and anthropology...