Spotted Eagle Ray

Description:

Just coming back from a trip to Ensenada, the Caribbean sea give me this present. Photo take at -70 ft on a ship wreck, coming from the deep blue this school of Eagle rays make its presence in front of us you can sea a group of divers coming down on the background. The spotted eagle ray has a long snout, flat and rounded like a duck's bill, a thick head, and a pectoral disc with sharply curved, angular corners, and no caudal fin; jaws usually with single row of flat, chevron-shaped teeth. Each tooth is a crescent-shaped plate joined into a band. They usually have numerous white spots on black or bluish disc; with white below. Long whip-like tail, with a long spine near the base, behind small dorsal fin.

Habitat:

Spotted eagle rays are commonly found in shallow inshore waters such as bays and coral reefs but may cross oceanic basins. They sometimes enters estuaries. They swim close to the surface, occasionally leaping out of the water, or close to the bottom. They frequently form large schools during the non-breeding season. The spotted eagle ray is distributed worldwide in tropical, coastal waters.