Bull ray

​Ah, another ray with a duck bill snout. Classic.
 
TFUI readers, say hello to the bull ray (Aetomylaeus bovinus), a subtropical light brown ray that is adorned with grey-blue strips on the dorsal side and has a creamy underbelly. #Finfact: It is often confused with Myliobatus aquila! Like other rays, they have flat teeth to help crush their prey of choice (in this case, crustaceans and molluscs). 

Photo by Phillippe Guilllaume

​Found along the eastern Atlantic (from Portugal all the way down to Africa), they’re commonly observed between 10 - 150 m of water. Capable of reaching up to 148 cm in length, they prefer warm tropical/temperate waters. Here, they are considered a prize angler fish (often let go) and their flesh is high esteemed. The bull ray is viviparous with yolk-sac with a gestation of about six months that ends up with 3-7 pups per litter. The IUCN has assessed these animals as Data Deficient (DD).

want to see bull ray? so do we!

glossary

• Crustaceans: Group of animals with a hard exoskeleton, jointed legs and segmented body.
• Dorsal fin: Fin located on the back.
• Dorsal side: The top of an animal.
• Gestation: The period in which a fetus develops, beginning with fertilization and ends at birth.
• IUCN: International Union for Conservation of Nature.
• Molluscs: The largest marine phylum; invertebrate animals, many of which have shells.
• Pup: Give birth to baby sharks (pups).
• Pups: Baby sharks.
• Temperate waters: The water between tropical seas and the Polar Regions (10-21° C, 50-69.8° F).​
• Viviparous with yolk-sac: Also known as aplacental viviparous and previously known as ovoviviparous/ovoviviparity; it is the production of eggs that are fertilised and hatch inside the female shark but the embryos lack a placental connection to the oviduct or uterus and so do not feed off the mother.

say hello!

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