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.

Eagle rays feed on mollusks and crustaceans, crushing their shells with their flattened teeth. Devil and manta rays filter plankton from the water. They are excellent swimmers and are able to breach the water up to several metres 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 9.1 m (1.6 to 29.9 ft) in length.

Classification

Nelson's 2006 Fishes of the World (4th edition), as well as FishBase, recognizes seven genera in three subfamilies. Some systematists, such as William Toby White, raise the subfamilies to family level instead, placing the cownose rays in Rhinopteridae, and the manta and mobulas in Mobulidae. Under this arrangement, three genera (Aetobatus, Aetomylaeus and Myliobatis) remain in Myliobatidae, while a fourth (Pteromylaeus) is considered synomous with Aetomylaeus.