Cartilaginous fish · Myliobatiformes · Myliobatidae

Spotted Eagle Ray

Aetobatus narinari

Endangered

It faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future. See full glossary

The spotted eagle ray — known in Spanish as raya jaspeada or águila marina moteada, and in Venezuela as chucho pintado and in Ecuador as raya pintada — is a cartilaginous fish that lives in shallow coastal waters over coral reefs and in bays, at depths of up to 80 metres. Its tail is generally two to three times as long as its body and carries several venomous spines at the base.

Weight

50 kg – 230 kg

Size

1.5 m – 3.3 m

Lifespan

25 years

Diet

Carnivore

Feeds mainly on other animals.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Hard

Fun facts

  • comportamientoIt can leap clear of the water, and on rare occasions has been documented landing accidentally on boats.
  • It leaps clear of the water: full jumps several metres high have been documented, and the most widely accepted explanation is that they serve to shed parasites or to escape predators, although the behaviour is still debated.
  • Its snout works like a shovel: it digs into the sand in search of buried bivalves, which it crushes with flattened dental plates able to break thick shells.
  • The pattern of white spots is unique to each individual, like a fingerprint, and researchers use it to identify particular animals without having to tag them.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type
Vertebrate - cartilaginous skeleton (fish)
Habitat & environment
Reefs, bays, estuaries and tropical and subtropical coastal waters in every ocean
Birth weight
17-36 cm disc width at birth
Size at birth
17-36 cm disc width at birth; it is ovoviviparous
Sexual maturity
5 years
Gestation / incubation
12 months of gestation
Litter / clutch size
3 live young

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aetobatus_narinari

Related species

Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Spotted Eagle Ray — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.

How to help

The spotted eagle ray is classified as endangered. Organizations such as UICN, WWF y Wildlife Conservation Society work specifically on its conservation and that of its habitat; looking into their programs is a good starting point if you want to get involved.

It's documented in 18 real protected areas — part of why protecting these places matters for its conservation.

Keep exploring

Based on what we already know about spotted eagle ray.

Comments

Share an experience, a fun fact or a tip for seeing the spotted eagle ray.

Be the first to comment.