Eagle Ray

The Eagle Ray, represented here by the Common Eagle Ray (Myliobatis aquila), belongs to the family Myliobatidae, a group of rays characterized by a diamond-shaped body, pointed wing-like pectoral fins, and a distinctive protruding, duck-bill-shaped snout used for probing sediment. Found across the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean, it is a strong, graceful swimmer often seen gliding just above sandy or muddy seafloors or occasionally leaping from the water. It plays an important ecological role as a predator of buried mollusks and crustaceans. Populations face pressure from bycatch and habitat degradation in parts of its range, leading to a Vulnerable conservation status in some assessments.

Key field marks:

• Diamond-shaped disc, dark brown to olive-gray dorsally, white below
• Distinctive protruding, rounded duck-bill-like snout
• Long, whip-like tail bearing one or more small venomous spines near the base
• Pointed, wing-like pectoral fins used for powerful swimming
• Small dorsal fin at the base of the tail

The protruding duck-bill snout combined with pointed wing-shaped pectoral fins distinguishes eagle rays from the more rounded discs of stingrays.

Found in coastal and shelf waters of the eastern Atlantic Ocean, from the British Isles south to West Africa, and throughout the Mediterranean Sea. Occupies sandy, muddy, or seagrass-covered bottoms from shallow inshore waters down to around 500 m, though it is most common in depths under 100 m. Undertakes seasonal inshore-offshore migrations tied to temperature and reproduction.

Eagle Rays are active, strong-swimming rays that cruise using powerful wing-like beats of their pectoral fins, often traveling in loose groups, and are known to leap clear of the water. They forage over sand and mud by excavating buried mollusks and crustaceans with their protruding snout and crushing them with flattened pavement-like teeth. Reproduction is ovoviviparous, with females giving birth to small litters of live young after internal development. Their tail spine, located near the base of the tail, provides defense against predators but is used only defensively, not for hunting.