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| fishes text index | photo index |
| Phylum Chordata > Subphylum Vertebrate > fishes |
| Spotted
eagle ray Aetobatus narinari Family Myliobatidae updated May 11 Where seen? Seen once in an artificial lagoon at Tanah Merah. Elsewhere, the eagle ray is associated with reefs, sometimes entering estuaries. It sometimes form large schools during non-breeding season. It is found almost worldwide in tropical waters, and some believe there may be as many as four species of spotted eagle ray. What are eagle rays? Eagle rays belong to Family Myliobatidae which include the Manta rays! According to FishBase: the family has 7 genera and 42 species. These fishes have the head above the disc-shaped body. In eagle rays, the jaws are powerful with large platelike crushing teeth in several rows. The tail is much longer than disc; venomous spine(s) are found in some species. They have a small dorsal fin. Some are known for their leaping ability high into the air. These fishes bear live young (viviparous) giving birth to 2-6 fully developed young. Features: Grows to about 3m wide, 8m long with the tail, weighing up to 230kgs. But more commonly about half that. The one seen was about 60cm wide with a tail about three times longer. Triangular 'wings', upper body dark with spots evenly distributed over the body (no pattern of bands). In some, the spots are eye-shaped. The underside is white. A long thin whip-like tail with 2-6 venomous spines at the base. It has a bulging head with a triangular snout. It may swim close to the surface, occasionally leaping out of the water. It may also swim close to the bottom. Eagle babies: Mama eagle ray gives birth to live young, a litter of 2-4 pups after a gestation period of probably a year. The ray is sexually mature at 4 to 6 years. What does it eat? It feeds on clams but also eats shrimps, crabs, octopus, worms, snails and small fishes. |
 Tanah Merah, May 11  Large triangular 'wings' with white spots.  Eyes and breathing spiracles on the sides of the head. Triangular snout.  May have 2-6 venomous spines at the base of the long thin tail |
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| Human
uses: The
fish is eaten by humans and the tail is sometimes used as a decorative
item. It is commonly caught in trawl nets and gillnets. Status and threats: Although the eagle ray is not listed in Singapore's Red List, on the international IUCN Red List it is classified as Near Threatened. The fish naturally reproduces slowly and is threatened mainly by overfishing |
| Family
Myliobatidae recorded for Singapore from Wee Y.C. and Peter K. L. Ng. 1994. A First Look at Biodiversity in Singapore.
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Links
References
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Periplus Editions. 292 pp.|
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