MYLIOBATIDAE


Aetobatus narinari
(photo by Mark Strickland)


Aetobatus narinari
(Euphrasen, 1790)
Spotted Eagle Ray

Disc rhomboidal, wider than long; pectoral fin wing-like. Head with a single prominent rostral fin. Tail cylindrical, very long, whip-like, with 1-5 venomous spines (stings). Nasal curtain deeply notched; lower tooth plate narrow, ca. 1/2 mouth width. Rear tips of pelvic fins broadly rounded. Color: dark gray to black dorsally with numerous small white spots widely scattered on disk; white ventrally. Size: maximum length at least 8.8 m, maximum disc width ca. 3.3 m. Distribution: cosmopolitan in warm sea. Remarks: Feeds on bottom-dwelling invertebrates, primarily on bivalve mollusks.