Eagle ray
Spotted eagle rays ( Aetobatus narinari )
The eagle rays ( Myliobatidae ) are a family of mostly very large rays that do not live like their relatives on the ground, but on the high seas pelagic in tropical and subtropical regions.
Head, trunk and the wing-like pectoral fins give a diamond- like shape. The whip-like tail is long and usually carries a sting in the vicinity of the base.
Eagle rays move forward by undulating up and down movements of the pectoral fins. They eat snails, mussels and crustaceans, crushing the shells with the extremely hard teeth.
Like most rays are eagle rays are viviparous ( ovoviviparous ). The pups come with tail first to the world.
System
After Fishbase, there are over 40 species in seven genera and three subfamilies.
- Subfamily Actual eagle rays ( Myliobatinae ) genus Aetobatus Aetobatus flagellum ( Bloch & Schneider, 1801)
- Spotted eagle rays ( Aetobatus narinari ) Euphrasen (1790)
- Aetobatus narutobiei White, Furumitsu & Yamaguchi, 2013
- Aetomylaeus maculatus (Gray, 1832)
- Aetomylaeus nichofii ( Bloch & Schneider, 1801)
- Aetomylaeus vespertilio ( Bleeker, 1852)
- Common eagle ray ( Myliobatis aquila ) (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Myliobatis australis Macleay, 1881
- Californian eagle rays ( Myliobatis californica ) Gill, 1865
- Myliobatis chilensis Philippi, 1893
- Myliobatis freminvillii Lesueur, 1824
- Myliobatis goodei Garman, 1885
- Myliobatis hamlyni Ogilby, 1911
- Myliobatis longirostris Applegate & Fitch, 1964
- Myliobatis peruvianus Garman, 1913
- Myliobatis tenuicaudatus Hector, 1877
- Myliobatis tobijei Bleeker, 1854
- Pteromylaeus episcopus ( Valenciennes, 1844)
- Pteromylaeus asperrimus ( Gilbert, 1898)
- Pteromylaeus bonaparti ( Duméril, 1865)
- Duckbill ray ( Pteromylaeus bovinus ) ( Geoffroy Saint- Hilaire, 1817)
- Kuhnasenrochen ( Rhinoptera ) ( 8 species)
- Manta
- Mobula
Kuhnasen and manta rays are often classified as families of their own. Then they have the names Rhinopteridae or Mobulidae.